The Metaphor Of Civilization Disease: A Study Of Spatial Writing In Evelyn Waugh’s Novels

The typical spaces in Evelyn Waugh’s novels includes jungles,castles,manors,cathedrals,cities,campuses and prisons.All of them aimed to a clear point that doubted modern civilizations.In 20^th Century,it was not rare that voice,which argued against modern civilizations,became loud and clear.Edward Carpenter,the author of Civilization Its Cause and Cure,believed that modern civilizations would be a kind of diseases which human has to pass through,however,there is no way back.Romanticism,which advocated nature,was out of data and New-Romanticism led to chaotic aesthetical features.In that case,construction of spaces in Evelyn Waugh’s novels turned out to be the opposite side of Modernism,which was not as obscure as Modernism works and mocked at Modernity.Escaping to nature or aristocratic interests were not the option because both of them were things that Evelyn Waugh planed to exceed.As a result,Waugh’s novels showed a futile critical style and civilizations became a disease without cure.In the first place,figure out the backgrounds and motives of Evelyn Waugh’s writing.His works were based on the following three factors:1.doubting modern civilizations;2.holding an ambiguous British aristocratic attitude;3.illustrating the anxiety of religion.According to these,Evelyn Waugh’s attitude of civilizations would be clear and they would be clues of revealing the meaning of constructing spaces in his novels.Secondly,analyze the primeval spaces and point out that them already lost their utopian functions.Primeval spaces seemed to be alien matters of modern world and in order to find out the reason why Evelyn Waugh constructed primeval spaces anti-modern thoughts in early20^th Century must be considered.Thirdly,indicate aesthetical characters of castles,manors and cathedrals.Evelyn Waugh was fond of describing Gothic buildings and decorations and from the angle of cultural meanings,religion-consciousness and aristocratic interests might be cures of civilization diseases but,obviously,they were not the final solution that Evelyn Waugh was looking for.Religion-consciousness and aristocratic interests were unstable when facing the impact of modern civilizations.Finally,clarify the meaning of modern spaces including campuses,cities and prisons.Evelyn Waugh described these spaces as deformities which called civilized but anti-rational in fact and just like The Waste Land written by T.S.Eliot.The boundary of flourishing cities and waste land was vanished and where human bodies were captive sarcastically became a free land of spirits.After all the analysis above,the significance of space construction in Evelyn Waugh’s novels would be revealed.Spaces in his works presented criticism and sarcasm and aimed to his nihility attitude of modern civilizations.