【作者】 李彦；

【导师】 王丽丽；

【作者基本信息】 山东大学 ， 英语语言文学， 2005， 硕士

【摘要】 老年人问题是世界各国一个日益引人注目的社会问题。由于生活水平的提高、医疗卫生条件的改善,不少国家人口结构中,老年人的比例逐渐增大。这种人口老龄化的问题表现十分突出。 老年人的问题向来是被人们遗忘的一个角落。他们被排斥在社会生活的主流之外,很多人不仅遭受贫困与疾病的折磨,而且始终要面对社会的冷漠、歧视和偏见,很少有人了解他们的困难与要求。但是从上个世纪八十年代以来,这种情况有所改善,老年人问题已经引起愈来愈多的人关注。在文学领域也出现了大批关注老年人命运的作家,多丽丝莱辛就是其中的一个代表。 多丽丝莱辛是二十世纪以来英国才华横溢且风格多变的女小说家,她自开始创作生涯以来就以其卓越的艺术成就而蜚声战后的英国文坛。她的作品不仅在英国,并且在整个英语国家的文学界有着广泛的影响。她的作品已被译成多种文字,在世界各地流传。她作为当代英国小说家中获奖最多者之一,曾经连续数年被提名为诺贝尔文学奖候选人,但由于种种原因未果。她的作品无论对男人或女人,老人或年轻人都有着深远、持久的影响。 虽然组成《简萨默斯的日记》的两部小说《一个好邻居的日记》(1983)和《假如老人能够》(1984)在她的众多著作中称不上巨著,但也可算作是莱辛创作后期的重返现实主义的一部重要作品,本书即描述了以吉尔为代表的青年,又描写了和以莫迪为代表的老年人,而中年人简娜是他们之间的桥梁和纽带,意识到时间的力量,从年轻人身上看到自己的过去,从老年人那里预见到自己的将来。着本书赋予了生活更多的意义,也体现了作者对于人性的特殊关切。也正是莱辛对人性的深切关注和对人生的领悟,构成了这篇论文三个章节的框架。 第一章主要是对老年人面临的健康、经济困扰、孤独等问题的分析。不像在那些传统的国家里,英国的老年人不再能够从子女那里得到帮助和照料,相反,他们还要尽可能地不去“麻烦”他们已经成年独立的子女。莫迪是女主人公简娜在当地议价药店里结识的一位八十多岁的老人,她虽然贫穷,但个性很强,骨子里透出一股傲气。简娜更多还原

【Abstract】 The plight of the aged, for so long neglected, has recently come to be regarded as a major social problem all over the world. The proportion of the aged members is increasing in most of the countries of the world after the improvements of the living level and the health-care standard. The problem of aging population is attracting more attentions.The aged have always been neglected. They are offered a sick role-the role of the infirm person who has outlived his or her usefulness to society. Quite a number of the elderly not only suffer from the illness and poverty, but also face the ignorance, prejudice and loneliness. Few people know their plight and request. This kind of social problem has been improved a lot since 1980s, and more and more people start to realize the plight of the aged. Apart from the sociologists and gerontologists, there are also a lot of literary writers who are deeply concerned in the fate of the elderly, and Doris Lessing is one of the representatives.Doris Lessing has been a renowned and talented British novelist. Her works has a profound influence not only in Britain but also in the whole world. Her books have been translated into various languages and have been worldly known. Having won numerous prizes all over the world, she also has been nominated for Literary Nobel Prize for many years. Her works has deep and lasting influence on both the old and the young.Though the novel The Diaries of Jane Somers which combined with The Diaries of a Good Neighbour and If the Old Could is not the most outstanding works among her famous books, it has also been regarded as an important book coming back to Realism during the latter period her creation. The readers sense Doris Lessing’s deep and special concern for the humanity. Her concern for the humanity forms the framework of the three chapters of this thesis.The first chapter mainly analyzes the plight of the aged faces such as thehealth problems, the economic problems and loneliness. Unlike the elders in a traditional society, the British aged can no longer lay automatic claim on their kin for support and social participation. On the contrary, they are more likely to have to try not to be a "nuisance" to they now independent adult offspring.2 Maudie is an old woman whom Janna, the protagonist meets in a chemist’s shop. She is proud and strong-willed though she lives in poverty. It’s hard to find the real friendship in the rich and fast-developing society. On the surface, the chasm between the two women is enormous, Janna: elegant, pushy, middle-aged career woman; Maudie: slow, old, troublesome and needy. But an extraordinary relationship between them grows from this chance encounter and they change each other’s life. It is a big mock at the contemporary society. Lessing always tries to find some merits on the humanity though it is hard to find them in reality.The second chapter presents several youngsters’ different characters, ambitions and their attitudes toward life. Young people are the hope and future of the world. They are less willing to accept the values of the society unquestionably than the youngsters in the past. They are more concerned with self-fulfillment and preserving personal privacy than youth were then3. Lessing depicts several different young people in this book. We have a clear idea of the younger generation’s characteristics. If there is any word that fits the present youngsters, it might be " anxious." Young people are eager to do well in school, to get started on careers, to lend a hand in solving the country’s problems. But they are also filled with anxiety, fearing that they won’t be given a chance to show their talents.The third chapter discusses the intergenerational relationships and influences among the three generations. Being obsessed with her work, Janna has taken her husband and mother for granted all the time. Only after their death does she realizes her ignorance and indifference to them. After the chance encounter in the chemist’s shop, Janna and Maudie become friends. The relatioship between them is more like kinship. In some way, Janna takes Maudie as a mother and Maudie also finds her long-lost lovefrom Janna. Her relationship with Maudie exposes Janna to many aspects of herself that have previously remained buried and leads her to look with fresh eyes at our society’s callous disregard for the loneliness, deprivation and suffering of the old.Janna’s two nieces Jill and Kate are the typical representatives of the two kinds of young people. Jill is smart, considerate and ambitious. She works hard and takes Janna as her model. Janna sees her younger self on Jill. On the contrary, Kate isolates herself from the real world with alcohol and music. She wishes to be as excellent as Jill while she is too self-indulgent to work hard. She is anxious to get the help from her senior adults but she is unwilling to show it. Janna tries to save Kate but in vain. Lessing gives the readers confidence at the end of the book.. Kate has been taken care by Janna’s colleague Hannah. We see hope from Kate’s letter to Janna.The relationship between two generations is both ordinary and delicate. The old need support from their offspring and the society, and the most important thing is that they should face the reality of the declining health and mentality that will come sooner or later in a reasonable way. They should not live in memories, in regrets for the good old days, or in sadness about friends who are dead. Their thoughts must be directed to the future, and to things in which there is something to be done. The younger generation is ambitious, energetic and fearless, and they are eager to do well. They still need the directions of their adults though it is no use telling grown-up children not to make mistakes, both because they will not believe, and because mistakes are an essential part of education.更多还原