梅·萨藤《加演节目》中的积极恐惧

菜单

Positive Aging in May Sarton’s Encore Abstract May Sarton, an American renowned poet, novelist and diarist, is most intelligent in writing journals. In 1993, May Sarton’s last journal Encore came out which shows vividly her life state when she was eighty years old and it can also be seen as a self-reflection of Sarton on many aspects such as solitude, aging and death during aging process.

In Encore, we can see an optimistic old image who loves life and is not afraid of aging. So this thesis tends to discuss Sarton’s positive aging and summarize her ways of anti-aging through a deep analysis of her journal Encore. And it is expected to provide reference for dealing with the aging. 49362

Key words: May Sarton: positive aging: literary gerontology

梅·萨藤《加演节目》中的积极恐惧

摘要梅·萨藤是美国颇有声誉的诗人，小说家和日记作者，尤其以她的日记集最为著名。1993年，作为萨藤最后一部日记集《加演节目》出版。这本日记集向读者生动地展示了她在80岁时的日常生活。同时也反映了萨藤在衰老过程中对人生的各种问题的思考，如孤独，衰老，死亡等。

从《加演节目》中，我们看到了一个热爱生活，积极向上，不畏惧衰老的老年人形象。因此，这篇论文主要是通过深度分析日记集《加演节目》来找出和总结梅•萨藤积极衰老的方式，期望为解决老年人衰老问题提供借鉴和参考。

毕业论文关键词: 梅·萨藤；积极衰老；老年学

Contents

1. Introduction1

1.1 Brief Introduction about May Sarton and Encore ...1

1.2 Reviewing the Research on May Sarton..2

1.3 Purpose of the Paper4

2. Sarton’s Positive Attitude Towards Aging 6

3. Sarton’s Regular Connection with Community...10

4. Sarton’s Writing in Old Age to Recreate a New Life..13

5. Conclusion...15

References16

1. Introduction

1.1 Brief Introduction about May Sarton and Encore

May Sarton, an American poet, novelist and memoirist, speaks about aging and death. She was the only child of George and Mabel ElwesSarton and was born in Wondelgem, Belgium in 1912. In that same year, George Sarton, a historian of science, founded the journal Isis. From her father, May Sarton learned about discipline and a fierce dedication to work and from her mother, an artist and designer, she learned about dedication and creativity, whether applied to gardening or to life. When she was twelve years old, Sarton traveled to Belgium where she met Marie Closset who wrote and published poetry under the name Jean Dominique. Closset remained an intimate friend and mentor of Sarton's and became the inspiration for her first novel, The Single Hound. After her parents’ death, Sarton sold the house and moved to Nelson where she wrote a large number of works. She is especially best known for her journals and memoirs, particularly Journal of a Solitude (1972-1973, often considered her best), The House by the Sea (1974-1976), Recovering (1978-1979), At Seventy (1982-1983) and Encore: A Journal of the Eightieth Year(1992-1993). In these works, Sarton records her aging life incisively and vividly. She deals with such issues as aging, isolation, solitude, friendship, love and relationships, pain, self-doubt, success and failure, importantly, the constant struggles of a creative life. In 1990, Sarton was nearly eighty. She suffered from stroke and found herself unable to write or even concentrate on her studies. This state lasted for several months. Gradually both writing and typing were difficult so she turned to a tape recorder and her journal Endgame Encore: A Journal of the Eightieth Year (1992) was recorded and transcribed from a cassette. Although she became increasingly dependent in certain outward ways, she refused to lose her independence. On July 16th, 1995, May Sarton died of breast cancer and was buried in Nelson.