On The Ethical Connotation Of Nadine Gordimer's Later Novels

Nadine Gordimer,a white woman writer in South Africa,has a consistent theme in her works:opposing apartheid and building a multi-ethnic society in which white people and black people share the same rights,which makes politics an indispensable part of her works.However,in the process of abolishing slavery and moving towards liberation in South Africa,Gordimer's focus gradually shifted from politics to the field of personal emotion and life,and began to pay attention to the impact of the old ethical relationship in the historical period of social upheaval.Great changes have taken place in the relationship between people in both family and society.As a community of social life between husband and wife and their children,family includes the ethical relationship between husband and wife,the intergenerational relationship between parents and children,and the relationship between brothers and sisters.In Godimer's later novels,due to the difference of ideal pursuit and the change of social status,the husband and wife lose the common language and life pursuit,and there is a gap and boredom in the marriage relationship,which leads to the occurrence of betrayal and infidelity;because the parents and elders pay too much attention to their personal feelings in the parent-child relationship,ignore the growth of their children,and fail to fulfill their own responsibilities,thus leading to the failure of their parents Losing the respect and love of their children makes them escape from the depressed and broken family and seek their own way of life.This is the impact of the changes of social environment and personal emotions on the ethical relationship between husband and wife and the ethical relationship between generations in the specific historical period of South Africa.On the premise of writing personal feelings and experiences,Gordimer,on the one hand,affirms the traditional family ethics,attaches importance to personal morality and moral responsibility,and emphasizes the importance of personal choice;on the other hand,she also puts forward new ideas on the relationship between husband and wife and the relationship between parents and children in South Africa in the new era.The social ethical relations in South Africa are deeply influenced by the apartheid system.This unfair system,which has lasted for hundreds of years,has left an indelible scar on both black and white groups.When the institutional factors causing social inequality are eliminated,violent struggle has lost its original role,and tolerance and reconciliation have become a new trend in the development of social relations.Under this new historical condition,Gordimer shifted his focus from politics to ideology and culture,and tried to put forward solutions from the perspective of ethnic integration and cultural exchange.Gordimer is a writer full of sense of justice.What she pursued all her life is how to make the world more human.