摘 要

E. M.福斯特是20世纪初最有影响力的小说家之一，他的作品主要关注人性、爱、相互交流以及人与人或人与自然之间的关系。《离开科罗诺斯之路》是福斯特早年创作的短篇小说，这篇小说对于探讨老年群体、人与人之间的交流以及年轻人与老年人之间的关系具有十分重要的意义。《离开科罗诺斯之路》中的科罗诺斯源于索福克勒斯的希腊悲剧《俄狄浦斯在科罗诺斯》，作者引用这一典故是为了更好的达到反讽的目的。因此，为了让读者更深入地了解小说的主旨和作者的写作意图，本篇论文对索福克勒斯的《俄狄浦斯在科罗诺斯》这部希腊悲剧进行了简要的介绍，而且还将这两篇作品进行了对比分析，以为接下来的课题研究打下基础。

本论文主要从福斯特的这篇短篇小说中研究老人的精神需求，与此同时，人文主义思想作为一个重要的理论思想也被分析和运用于论文课题的研究过程中。此外，本论文的研究也非常注重其现实意义。常言道，文学作品是一个时代的反映，然而，小说《离开科罗诺斯之路》中所反映的问题不仅在20世纪初的英国社会中存在，而且在当代的中国社会中也很普遍。当前，随着中国老龄人口数量的不断增长，老年人的问题也变得越来越严重。我们应该怎样和老人相处？我们应该如何提高老年群体的幸福感和满足感？对于这些问题，福斯特的这篇小说给了我们很大的启发，同时我们也会在对课题的研究中找到一些科学合理的答案。

关键词：老人的精神需求；人文主义；《离开科罗诺斯之路》

Abstract

E. M. Forster is one of the most influential novelists in early 20^th century. His novels mainly focus on the theme of humanity, love, mutual communication, and the connection between person and person or human and nature. The Road from Colonus is a short story created in Forster’s early years and it is very informative for exploring the aged group, the interpersonal communication, and the relationship between the old and the young. In order to guide readers to further understand author’s intention, this paper also generally introduces the Greek tragedy written by Sophocles, which is the main allusion cited in the story and it is very important for readers to understand Forster’s story. Moreover, a distinct comparison about the two stories is also arranged in the paper.

However, what this paper mainly intends is to analyze the spiritual demands of the aged, in the meanwhile, humanism as an important theory is rightly employed and elaborated in the process of study. What’s more, this paper also has practical significance. Usually, many literary works are the reflection of their era, but the problems Forster’s story The Road from Colonus reflects not only happened in Britain society in early 20th century, but also exist in modern society of China. With the increasing population of the aged in current China, the problems of the aged are becoming more and more urgent. How to get along with the aged? How to promote the happiness and fulfillment of the group of the aged? All these questions will be studied in the paper.

Key Words: spiritual demands of the aged; humanism; The Road from Colonus

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Brief introductions of the story 3

2.1 The main plot of the story 3

2.2 The humanism of the story 4

2.2.1 The brief introduction of Humanism 4

2.2.2 The embodiment of Forster’s Humanism in The Road from Colonus 4

3 The interpretation on the spiritual demands of the old man 6

3.1 The interpretation on the allusion in the story 6

3.1.1 The general introduction of Oedipus at Colonus 6

3.1.2 The connection between the two works 7

3.2 The interpretation on the spiritual demands of the old man 9

3.2.1 The tendency to nostalgia 9

3.2.2 The desire for harmonious environment 10

3.2.3 The yearning for constant dignity and liberty 11