Abstract

James Joyce is the central figure of western modernism literature. His Dubliners was created in its infancy of modern Western literature, when people widely accepted traditional novel so could not well understand the profound aesthetic meaning embodied in Dubliners. However, with the development of literary criticism of Joyce, the artistic and aesthetic values of Dubliners were gradually recognized by many critics. This paper aims at analyzing the aesthetic thoughts embodied in Dubliners, discussing the embodiment of the two aspects of aesthetic elements “wholeness” and “harmony” both in the framework and the theme. Then the author attempts to explore the highest stage of “radiance” which is defined by Joyce as “epiphany”, and summarize the formation and development of Joyce’s aesthetic thoughts.

Key words: Dubliners; aesthetics; wholeness; harmony; radiance

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-1

3. Wholeness of Dubliners-3

3.1 Wholeness of Setting-3

3.2 Wholeness of Structure-4

4. Harmony of Dubliners-5

4.1 Harmony of Style-5

4.2 Multiple Layers of Themes-6

5. Radiance of Dubliners-7

5.1 Aesthetics of Epiphany-8

5.2 Epiphany of Dubliners-9

6. James Joyce’s Aesthetic Theory-9

6.1 The Background-10

6.2 Joyce’s Beauty-12

7. Conclusion-12

Works Cited-14