曼斯菲尔德短篇小说《花园茶会》的象征意义

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An Analysis of the Symbolic Meanings in Katherine Mansfield’s Short Story “The Garden Party”Abstract Katherine Mansfield, a master of short stories in the 20th century, has made great contribution to the development of modern short stories by her frequent use of narrative art. And symbolic writing technique is one of the striking features in most of her works. The short story “The Garden Party”, which Mansfield wrote during her final stages of illness, is the peak of her achievements. In the story, the author creates a plain but appealing atmosphere in natural language. Besides, the use of symbolic writing technique is a distinctive feature of the story. It contributes a lot to the deepening of the theme and the characterizations. This paper tries to explore the symbolic meanings implied in the story as well as to analyze the functions they have. It mainly focuses on the symbolic meanings implied in the main characters and some important scenes.47426

Keywords: Katherine Mansfield, “The Garden Party”, characterization, description of scenes, symbolic meanings

分析曼斯菲尔德短篇小说《花园茶会》的象征意义

摘要20世纪短篇小说大师凯瑟琳•曼斯菲尔德以她娴熟的小说叙述艺术对现代短篇小说的发展做出了重大贡献。在她众多的作品中，象征主义写作技巧是最显著的特点之一。短篇小说《花园茶会》是曼斯菲尔德在生病晚期所创作，也一直被认为是她小说创作历程中的巅峰之作。故事中，作者用自然的笔触表达了一种平淡而又意深长的气氛。此外，象征主义写作手法的运用也是这篇小说的一大特色，它对深化小说主题和揭示人物内心世界具有重要作用。本文主要试着从主要人物塑造以及故事场景描述来探索故事中隐藏着的象征意义并分析这些象征手法的作用。

毕业论文关键词：凯瑟琳•曼斯菲尔德，《花园茶会》, 人物塑造，场景描述，象征意义

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Background of This Study 1

1.2 Previous Studies on Katherine Mansfield and Her Works 1

1.2.1 Studies Abroad 1

1.2.2 Studies at Home 2

1.3 Significance of This Study 3

1.4 Structure of the Paper 3

2. Symbolic Features in Katherine Mansfield’s Works 4

2.1 Symbolic Writing Skill 4

2.2 Symbolic Writing Style in Mansfield’s Works 4

3. Symbolic Meanings Embodied in “The Garden Party” 6

3.1 Symbolic Writing in the Characterization 6

3.1.1 Laura and Her Psychological Changes 6

3.1.2 Mrs. Sheridan and Her Sense of Superiority as the Upper Class 7

3.2 Symbolic Images of the Scenes 8

3.2.1 The Garden Party 8

3.2.2 The Lane 9

3.2.3 The Flowers 9

3.2.4 The Trees 10

3.2.5 The Colors and the Light 10

4. Conclusion 11

References 12

1. Introduction

“The Garden Party” by Mansfield is one of the best modern short stories. The writer creates a plain but appealing atmosphere in natural language. From the point of view of little Laura, the general superintendent of the garden party, the fulfilling happiness marked by garden party comes to be unveiled, she accidentally begins to observe the reality of life in which life and happiness are always accompanied by death and sorrow. Beside Mansfield's personalized narrative style, beautiful and elegant language, various symbols in the story also contribute to the vivid picturing of characters and their inner worlds. Based on the analysis of the symbolic meanings of characters and important scenes, this paper tries to give insights into Laura’s changing values on life and Mansfield’s own insightful understanding of the world.