浅析詹姆斯乔伊斯小说《阿拉比》中的精神瘫痪和灵魂顿悟

刘君雅

【Abstract】“Araby” is James Joyces early work.This essay analyzes some images in it，including “blind end”，“central apple tree” and “araby”，to illustrate moral paralysis and epiphany in this short story.

【Key Words】James Joyce； Araby； moral paralysis； epiphany

【摘要】阿拉比是 詹姆斯·乔伊斯的早期作品。本文通过分析“死胡同”、“中央的苹果树”和“阿拉比”等意象，阐释小说中凸显的精神瘫痪和灵魂顿悟主题。

【关键词】詹姆斯·乔伊斯 阿拉比 精神瘫痪 灵魂顿悟

“Araby” tells a growth story of a boy，who realizes the cruel reality after his dream goes vanish.He gains the epiphany that the whole society are suffered the moral paralysis—people are blind，religious beliefs are deserted and the illusion of the society is doomed to go vanish.

Many details in the short story indicate the moral paralysis of Irish society.The street where the protagonist lives is “blind” and there is “an uninhabited house” standing at “the blind end” （James Joyce 2168）.The whole environment is dark，quiet，depressive and even scaring.All the things are in the “blind end” （Joyce 2168）.Nothing can run out of it，of course，including love and dream.Only a priest，who is “very charitable” （Joyce 2169），can give people a little guide.There are some religious books in his room，The Abbot and The Devout Communicant，but the pages are “curled and damp”.“Curled and damp” pages indicate that religious beliefs are totally forgotten by people （Joyce 2169）.However，the last shred of light and warmth also disappeared because of the death of the priest.Then，James Joyce mentions that the boy finds a “wild garden” and a “central apple-tree” behind the house.It reminds me of the Garden of Eden and Tree of Wisdom in Bible.Garden of Eden is where God lives，which stands for piety，belief and truth.But the garden is deserted，just like the abandoned spiritual world.Whats noteworthy is the “rusty bicycle-pump” in the garden （Joyce 2169），which is another reflection of the priest.Priest should pump belief，courage and hope into the society but he dies，which is similar to the “rusty bicycle-pump” that is out of use.All the images suggest that people are suffering moral paralysis and belief absence.

Despite the depressing environment，the boy still decides to pursue his dream.But he suffers the disillusion through knowledge and epiphany.Mangan，charming and brilliant，becomes hope and light in his heart.Her names are like “a summons to all my foolish blood”.When the boy is in prayer，the name of the girl always “spring[s]to his lips” （Joyce 2170）.The boy not only loves Mangan，but also adores her.Like Christians reverence and owe to Virgin Mary，he reveres the girl.Mangan really wants to go to Araby，“a splendid bazaar”，but she cant go because of a retreat （Joyce 2170）.Araby becomes an imaginary world in his heart.“Araby—the very word connotes the nature of the boy's confusion.It is a word redolent of the lush East，of distant lands，Levantine riches，romantic entertainments，mysterious magic，‘Grand Oriental Fetes. The boy immerses himself in this incense-filled dream world” （Harry 394）.However，when he gets there，he finds that his “new world” turns out to be a dark，silent and foppish place—“nearly all the stalls were closed” and only “two men were counting money on a salver and I listened to the fall of the coins” （Joyce 2172）.Seeing all this，the boy sees himself as “a creature driven and derided by vanity； and my eyes burned with anguish and anger”.He lacks knowledge of the world he lived before but now the illusion goes vanish and he gets an epiphany.“the epiphanic experience is conceptualized as one of sudden，discontinuous change，leading to profound，positive，and enduring transformation through the reconfiguration of an individual's most deeply held beliefs about self and world”（Arianna Nicole Jarvis，1）.In the pursuit of love，the boy gains a experience of self-knowledge.He knows that this is a paralyzed society and he cannot realize his dream here.

In Bible，Adam ate the forbidden fruit and gained knowledge because he loves Eve and was cast to the world of reality； James Joyce tells the very similar story to raise the thinking about the moral paralysis and epiphany.

Reference：

[1]Arianna Nicole Jarvis，Taking a break：Preliminary investigations into the psychology of epiphanies as discontinuous change experiences（January 1，1996）.Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest，

[2]Joyce，James.“Araby.”Ed.M.H.Abrama.The Northon Anthology of English Literature：Volume 2.New York：W.W.Norton，1986.2168-2172.

[3]Stone，Harry.“Araby”and the Writings of James Joyce.The Antioch Review25.3 （1965）：375.