Evelyn Waugh and the Pursuit of Permanence

• Other Authors: Chan, Sze Man (author.)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; Chinese
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://repository.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/en/item/cuhk-1292134

本論文探討伊夫林‧沃 (Evelyn Waugh) 在其人生及寫作裡反映出的一種對「永恆」(permanence) 的嚮往與追尋。作者的寫作風格及主題皆受其於1930年開始信奉天主教的影響，由早期廣受讀者歡迎的針對英國上流社會的諷刺小說，轉而多寫有關宗教與人之關係。本論文從作者的寫作風格、題材及生平的角度切入研究，除小說作品外，還參考了大量作者的書信、日記、書刊文稿及評論，以及其他有關作者的文學評論及報導。 === 本論文共分五章，旨於提出一個把作者的生平、世界觀及寫作與其宗教觀連繫的論述，並把傳統上把作者的寫作分水嶺定為 <<故園風雨後>> (1945) 的日期推前至1939年。論文中探討了伊夫林‧沃 對「好藝術」(“Good Art”) 及相對的「混亂與絕望之訊息」(“Message of Chaos and Despair”) 的概念，巴洛克建築對其發展有關「結構性」寫作 (structural/ architectural writing) 的影響。另外，伊夫林‧沃對「永恆」的追尋可透過其作品的重要象徵與主題而看到，包括：他主張現代社會及他自己正面臨「基督教與混亂」之間的抉擇，而當代世界正需要重回超自然力量的秩序，否則只能淪為「沒有恩典的權力」(“power without grace”)。其作品也探討「惡魔的迷人」與「基督的美」，及「背棄神的憂鬱」(“sadness in the face of God”) 與「神愛裡的喜樂」(“joy in the love of God”) 之區別，從而建立一套他個人的、獨特的通向永恆的方法，即是「眾人皆可成聖人」，只要每人盡力做好神所安排其份的差事(vocation)，兼有大愛之心 (compassion)，即可成「完人」(“complete man”)，甚至成聖。 === This thesis explores Waugh’s pursuit of permanence in his life and writing, using formal, thematic, and biographical approaches. It adopts close textual analyses alongside readings of his non-fictional writing. It also considers critics’ and friends’ accounts of both Waugh and his writing. This thesis explores the pursuit of permanence through giving narrative logic to Waugh’s vision of the affinity between his Catholicism and his writing. The primary conclusion of this thesis is accordingly that there is a consistent train of thought motivating and expressed by Waugh’s writing, a thought which is heavily informed by his Catholic religiosity. In order, the thesis explores Waugh’s ideas of “Good Art,” by contrast with what he calls the “message of Chaos and Despair”; his aesthetics of the baroque and its impact on his idea of “structural/ architectural writing” and his own literary transformations; concepts of the point versus the whirling world and the waste land; his choice between Christianity and Chaos and his belief in the power of the supernatural order; the difference between “sadness in the face of good” (i.e. sloth) and “joy in the love of God”; the difference between devilish “charm” and Christian beauty; how his uniquely personalised ideals of vocation, supernatural order, compassion, the complete man and the saint help him to achieve a personal sense of permanence, which is expressed by and reflected in his works. The thesis also argues that 1939, a date that is neglected, is a much earlier watershed and one which separates the earlier Waugh from the later Waugh, when compared to Brideshead, marking Waugh’s change in terms of worldview and literary direction. The five central chapters pay close attention to individual works in order to demonstrate and explore their underlying consistency, while biographical details provide further evidence that Waugh consistently pursued permanence. === Chan, Sze Man. === Thesis Ph.D. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2016. === Includes bibliographical references (leaves ). === Abstracts also in Chinese. === Title from PDF title page (viewed on …). === Detailed summary in vernacular field only. === Detailed summary in vernacular field only.