《阿姆斯特丹》中的死亡恐惧

论文总字数：54049字

摘 要

伊恩·麦克尤恩（1948-）擅长以细腻而又犀利的文笔描绘现代人内在的种种不安和恐惧，作品主题多涵盖暴力、死亡、爱欲和善恶。在《阿姆斯特丹》中麦克尤恩刻画了两个老年男性形象——音乐家克莱夫和报社主编弗农。二人曾是彼此的挚友，都生活在死亡焦虑的阴影之中，最终在阿姆斯特丹双双中毒而亡。本文借助罗伯特·朗的死亡焦虑理论以及杰夫格林·伯格的恐惧管理理论分析了克莱夫与弗农面对衰老和死亡的态度。

论文分为五个部分。第一部分主要简要介绍了麦克尤恩小说《阿姆斯特丹》，对死亡恐惧理论进行了梳理。第一到第三章为论文的主体部分。第一章讨论了掠夺性死亡焦虑对克莱夫和弗农的影响及两人的逃避行为。克莱夫把音乐创作看成是逃避的手段，但当他创作灵感不再光顾时，他选择逃向大自然，去山谷远足。同样地，作为报社主编的弗农通过工作来逃避这种死亡焦虑。第二章分析了存在性死亡焦虑对克莱夫和弗农的影响及他们的拒绝对策。面对衰老和死亡的阴影，他们不约而同地采用了拒绝策略，不承认自己已经衰老，不愿意接受现实。第三章着重于捕食者死亡焦虑和伤害他人的策略选择。在巨大的死亡焦虑压力之下，他们以伤害他人的方式将自己的负面情绪转移给他人。克莱夫和弗农身上体现出的三种死亡焦虑有共通之处，两人均没能意识到自身被死亡恐惧所驱使，并且没能以恰当的方式疏解严重的焦虑情绪，从而最终导致了互相谋杀的悲剧发生。在结论部分，本文总结了悲剧的成因，揭示了老年人进入衰老阶段后的恐惧心理及应对措施。

关键词：伊恩·麦克尤恩；《阿姆斯特丹》；死亡焦虑

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. i

English Abstract ............................................................................................................... ii

摘要 .................................................................................................................................iii Introduction.........................................................................................................................1

Ian McEwan and Amsterdam ..............................................................................................1

Literature Review ................................................................................................................2

Death Fear and Terror Management Theory .......................................................................4

Thesis Structure....................................................................................................................6

Chapter One Escape and Predatory Death Anxiety …...................................................8

1.1 Clive's Solitary Experience in Nature.............................................................................8

1.2 Vernon’s Daily Chores.................................................................................................12

Chapter Two Denial and Existential Death Anxiety.................................................... 26

2.1 Clive’s “Genius” Dream ..............................................................................................27

2.2Vernon’s “Heavy Hitter” Dream ............................................................................... 29 Chapter Three Harm and Predator Death Anxiety......................................................17

3.1 Vernon's Discrediting News Report ............................................................................17

3.2 Murders in Amsterdam ................................................................................................22

Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 33

Works Cited..................................................................................................................... 36

Introduction

Ian McEwan and Amsterdam

Ian McEwan is a British novelist and playwright, who was born in London. His mother’s careful attitude toward language had a great influence on McEwan. He developed a good habit of weighing his words. After publishing a series of short stories in magazines, his short story collection The First Love, the Last Ritual was finally published in both Britain and the United States. It aroused unexpected sensation. Appreciators applauded McEwan's dazzling narrative abilities and valued him as a successor to Beckett and Kafka. In 1978, McEwan published his second short story collection Between the Beds, and this time he earned the nickname of “Ian Macabre”. The “terror” of this book is not the psychological terror of the night or ghosts. It's the terror of life itself.

Amsterdam is a novel written by McEwan. Amsterdam tells the story of a composer Clive and a newspaper editor Vernon, who try to escape from death anxiety. Through parallel story clues, death and anxieties are subtly embedded in postmodern narratives. The death of the spirit and the demise of the flesh are everywhere. Death has deconstructed the musician’s so-called great ideas and power, resulting in a hollow life for both of them. They perform the drama everyday, waiting for the death.

Literature Review

Focusing on the research on Ian McEwan in recent twenty years, people can easily divide it into two stages. Early research aims at analyzing the themes and providing the reference for researchers in later studies. However, for lack of support of current literary criticism and diversity it just has a small scale of studies. In the new century, western researchers pay more attention to Ian McEwan. With the development of literary criticisms, people apply new theories to the works of Ian McEwan, which becomes a new trend of study. Compared to the western research about Ian McEwan, domestic studies are not diverse or deep enough.

And current studies in the world are focusing on the following aspects. First, from the perspective of ethic, researchers analyze the ethic dilemma and human nature. For example, Jen Chieh Tsai applies ethical theory to explain Ian McEwan's expression of friendliness and hatred in Amsterdam, interpret friendship and hostility based on Jacques Derrida's theory of reception ethics, and analyze the interrelationships behind Derrida's views. Second, research is conducted from the perspective of humanism. Through analyzing Amsterdam, the scholars examine the ideals and failures of heroine's artistic creation, the mistakes of moral choices and the illusion of victory, revealing the flaws and ideals of humanism in the article. For example, Florentina Anghel uses the consistency of humanity to reveal their personality characteristics through the protagonist's judgment and moral inconsistency. Third, from the perspective of dissimilation theory research, researchers compare and analyze the alienation and alienation relationship between people in the British society. For example, Doujin explains Amsterdam from the three aspects of nature, society and human relations. Most foreign studies focus on the perspective of ethical values and dissimilation theories; some domestic scholars explain them from the perspective of death and dignity. On the premise of referring to related literature in domestic and abroad, author decided to analyze the fear of death in the Amsterdam novel from the psychological perspective of death. Through that people can enhance their understanding of the old’s needs, and strengthen the understanding of social and family harmony.

Death Fear Theory

Farley points out that Death anxiety is a kind of anxiety caused by thoughts of death. One source defines death anxiety as a “feeling of dread, apprehension or solicitude or anxiety when one thinks of the process of dying, or ceasing to ‘be’ ”(14-21). And Robert Langs distinguishes three types of death anxiety: predatory death anxiety, predation or predator death anxiety, and existential death anxiety.

Predatory death anxiety arises from the fear of being harmed. It is the most basic and oldest form of death anxiety. For humans, predatory death anxiety is evoked by a variety of dangerous situations that put one at risk or threaten one's survival. This kind of anxiety could make people combat the danger or attempt to escape the threatening situation. Existential death anxiety stems from the basic knowledge that human life must end. Denial is affected by a wide range of mental mechanisms and physical actions, many of which go unrecognized (13). And predation death anxiety is a form that arises when an individual harms another, physically and mentally. In Amsterdam both two heroes have those three kinds of death anxiety in different levels. They try their best but without professional help of therapists they can't get rid of death anxiety. And the severe anxiety finally leads them to the death. And they are not even aware that their behaviors are motivated by death fear.

Thesis Structure

In light of what is stated above, this research will analyze how Clive and Vernon act under the great pressure of death anxiety and why their reactions finally lead them to death. In other words, the research analyzes the reasons for heroines’ death anxiety and the ways to deal with it in the aspect of culture, dignity and social relationship according to the psychology.

In the introduction part, the author will make a brief introduction on Ian McEwan and his book Amsterdam. Then the research reviews previous studies home and abroad about the book and introduces the Death Fear and Terror Management Theory’s origin, development and especially the specific theory used in the research.

Three main chapters will be focused respectively on the act of having death anxiety and ways to deal with death anxiety in the aspect of culture, dignity and social relationship.

The first chapter discusses Escape and Predatory Death Anxiety. The protagonists both choose to escape from death anxiety, which is caused by fear of being hurt. Clive hides himself in music creating and he chooses to go to the valley to escape it. Vernon is an ordinary people and he is immersed in all daily lives and becomes an invisible man to run away from the death anxiety. The second chapter analyzes Denial and Existential Death Anxiety. The protagonists deal with death anxiety through denying everything that makes them uncomfortable or anxious. They refuse to admit that they are old and they don’t have talents. They are willing to make dreams to deny the reality. Although they can’t change the situation, they choose to deny the reality. The third chapter focuses on Harm and Predator Death Anxiety. Both of them want to become the best one. They think that they can deal with death anxiety if they become the predators free from being hurt. They will not worry about it any more. So they decide to harm others and even do harmful things to each other

The final conclusion of the research is that we couldn’t deny aging and death or escape from them. Damaging to self or others is also helpless. The only thing we can do in this cage of limited life is accepting this setting. Face up to the truth and enjoy it. Ageing gracefully doesn’t mean that we can run away from adult diapers.

Chapter One Escape and Predatory Death Anxiety

• 1. Clive's Solitary Experience in Nature

According to Robert Langs, Predatory Death Anxiety is the oldest and the most basic form of death anxiety. It comes from the fear of being hurt. For human beings it can be evoked by different kinds of situations that can threaten one’s survival. And it can be physical, psychological, or both of them. Predatory Death Anxiety can be evoked by different kinds of situations that can threaten one’s survival or daily life at the aspect of physiology and psychology for human beings. Langs points out “To deal with this kind of death anxiety, people may try to fight or flight” (21-53). And in Clive’s case, he chooses the latter way flight to deal with death anxiety including death, aging and illness, which come from Molly’s death.

Clive, Molly's old lover, believes himself is a genius composer, however he has to rely on plagiarism to complete his creation. Clive is famous for his masterpiece “The Memory of Beauty. ” At the beginning of 1996, he was entrusted with responsibility by the government to create a symphony for the millennium four years later. However, under the great anxiety and running out of his inspirations, the progress is slow, and he is forced to complete the manuscript with three or four times. In the end his final work millennium symphony becomes the biggest joke and failure in his life because his inferior plagiarism of ‘The Ode to Joy’.

Molly is a food critics, and photographer. Molly's beauty and talent have always been appreciated, and her unscrupulous private life has never been criticized. In addition to her enthusiasm in work, she also displays extraordinary appreciation and active participation in music and politics. She has very close relationships with Clive, Vernon, and Gamony, even she has her husband George. She chats with Clive about music and Bach and talks about food with Vernon. When she is with Gamony, she has a deep discussion on topics such as freedom and equality. Molly never cleans her suite and never washes dishes. This is a woman who has never thought of being confined by family life. Her career is her motivation. Molly is a woman in the new era with economic independence and unique charming personality. She is obviously a pioneer of feminism and has never concealed her desire for sex and her curiosity.

After Molly's funeral, Clive goes back home alone. The surroundings are so dark and quiet that Clive can hear his own heartbeat. Especially under this circumstance can he feel afraid, worried and anxious. He lies in bed trying to make himself calm and relaxed, but can’t help thinking of Molly’s situation before her death. Molly suffers a lot of pain and torture when she is invaded by her illness, and she dies like an animal without consciousness. Although Clive tries to avoid the idea of death like hers but he can’t. So when Clive is anxious about his death which is caused by his lover Molly’s miserable death, he chooses to sink into his music, but “there are also days like this one when he think of nothing but the music cannot stay away” (McEwan 97). There is no doubt that he devotes himself to the music as a musician. But devoting to music and becoming a great artist are not only a simple dream or realization for him but also is a way in which he can comfort himself. Clive holds the opinion that music is a way to help him escape and forget his anxiousness for death, illness and aging. In fact, he can forget some pain when he is sucked in music creating. But it is not feasible all the time. First of all, death is what people will be faced with in the end. No one can get rid of the fate of final death. It is a rule or can be called principle, which cannot be resisted by anyone or anything. So his comfort is temporary. Besides, Clive has talents and is good at music creating. He can experience a sense of achievement and satisfaction when he finishes his creating. He still has the ability to create something new and realizes his value. If he tries his best and devotes himself to music all day and night without achievements, and then he can’t escape the fear of death. The last but not least, he is still a young man. He can’t experience the pain and illness that the old people suffer. He can have the awareness that people will become weak when they are old and they will suffer pain and torture if they are ill. They have no choice but to be controlled by doctors like animals. Their lives will not belong to themselves but are in the charge of hospitals and doctors. This is what Clive can think of but he cannot experience everything. Once he becomes old or ill, his interest and enthusiasm in music creating will not work any more.

And actually, for Clive, he always chooses running away when things are getting hard. When the possibilities that are mentioned before happen he can’t escape his death anxiety. The first condition is that he can’t get the inspiration of the final melody. In fact, Clive realizes that he can’t create any beautiful or excellent melody if he still stays in London and in his workroom. He tries his best to write something and tries different things every day. But he can only use what he has written to adapt or change. He can’t write works of art with unique styles. He can’t write authoritative or original songs. He can’t write anything that surprises others. Every day, he just does some tremendous things such as completing the arrangement of orchestral music or rewriting some draft. Music creating can always give Clive a sense of achievement and a feeling of comfort. But he can’t continue his creating so he can’t escape his death anxiety in this way. Therefore he is trapped in the death anxiety again. His brain is in a nervous status and his eyesight becomes weak. His anxiety has embodies in his physical phenomenon. His feet are cold while his body is full of hot gas that seems to boil. What can give him a comfort and make him away from death anxiety is his talent in music creating. And in turn his reducing talent makes him trapped in the death anxiety again. His worry about his work music creating turns into the fear of darkness, illness and death. He feels it clearly and vividly. It is a little ironic that the way for him to escape death anxiety is also a cause to his death anxiety.

At the same time, he feels a little uncomfortable and he wants to see a doctor. It is at this time that he thinks of Molly again. Molly goes to the hospital and sees a doctor. The doctor can deal with the weak body but can’t stop the coming of weakness. Clive says to himself that he should stay away from doctors and take charge of his own body by himself. When he can’t go on working and live with dignity, he will end his life. But if he is too old to take control himself and he becomes blunt and stupid, how can he stop the coming of miserable death?

So how does Clive deal with his death anxiety? He still chooses to the means of escape. He goes to the valley. He sets off the track into the valley to run away his anxiety, an unconscious fear of death and aging. He tells no one that he is stalled in his work. Instead, he says he is off on a short walking holiday. He enjoys the scenes as he always does. The power of nature heals him. He even feels that he could solve all the problems. This journey is not so much for seeking for inspiration as for hiding back to the memory of being youth and powerful. In his trip of the valley, at the moment Muse comes as a gift he hears the cry from a woman who is harassed by a rapist. His moral sense shuts the door of the inspiration in his inner world. No where to escape anymore. Even he lies pressed against the rock, closes his eyes and tells himself that he is not there. When he hears the woman’s voice rise to a sudden shout, his heart trembles a little. He can’t escape from the reality. Though he still chooses the most Clive way to deal with it, runs away and pretends having nothing happened. However he can’t eliminate the negative effect of what he does. This journey becomes the turning point of his relationship with Vernon, which finally pushes Vernon to make the decision to murder him. He escapes again and again but he couldn’t escape from his death. In other words, he digs his own grave.

According to Terror Management Theory built by Jeff Greengerg, in some cases, “people may be so concerned with their physical appearance and boost their self-esteem that they ignore problems or concerns with their own physical health ”(189-212). Clive is scared of Molly’s death subconsciously, and he tries hard to find his self-esteem. It’s a tough journey because his escaping from predatory death anxiety is also a trip to find his dignity from frustration on his work. And of course, his behavior is just like what Jeff Greengerg does explain in his theory. To gain high self-esteem to release his anxiety, Clive has to find his sense of uniqueness. And fortunately, that is what his job can provide him. He would be the one remembered and appreciated by all his people just like Shakespeare. He can give up everything even his moral to seek for success on his work. In this case, he makes his choice of scratching his inspiration instead of saving the poor lady who is being sexually harassed at that moment. And he knows what will happen to the lady and he has been questioned by himself for many times. However, to eliminate the guilt he has, he consoles himself that his work is the greatest and values more than saving a woman from being harassed. And he even believes in it after he convinces himself time after time. He escapes from his guilt and anxiety after he believes in the uniqueness of his great work.

1.2 Vernon’s Daily Chores

Differ from Clive, Vernon is not outstanding at all. Vernon is the chief editor of the Judge, Morley's lover. Vernon is actually mediocre. He is a man with no edges, no shortcomings and no virtues. He is just an invisible man in the eyes of everyone. Due to the readjustment of the ownership of the newspaper office, he is lucky to be the chief editor. Though he has no speciality, he still has his dream to be a big influencer in the newspaper field. He wants to use the Judge to pull down the foreign minister Gamony who also has a very close relationship with Molly. As is mentioned above, Molly’s death gives Clive, one of her lovers a felling of anxiousness and worry. Similarly, Vernon has been affected by Molly’s death deeply. He is surrounded by an atmosphere of darkness and gloom. After Molly’s death, Vernon has a sense of illusory and nothingness. This kind of feeling is always invading and sucking him. Even after he wakes up, he touches his face in order to make sure that he is still alive and his body still exists. There is no doubt that he is in a condition of predatory death anxiety. Belsky points out “Often, when predatory anxiety occurs subconscious reasoning takes over “(29). Others and even himself can’t understand this kind of feeling. As is known to all, Vernon is not a talent people. He is so ordinary that he has no advantages or disadvantages. He lives an uncompleted life. His sense of existence is very low and has no talents. It is ironical that he is respected by everyone because of his incompetence. It is surprised that he becomes the editor of The Judge, which is a miracle in the press.

It is this great job that helps Clive to escape death anxiety. He feels this kind of anxiety from time to time. It can’t be described by language. It’s just a feeling that only people who experience it can understand the feeling. It’s not cold without temperature. It is not like a stone that suppress on his body. It is also not like a balloon floating on the air. In fact, death is the most suitable word to describe Vernon’s mood. He is caught into death anxiety. His right hemisphere has died when he realizes that so many people die out of sickness or aging. His brain is in divisive condition. He is not willing to face death directly. He is not willing to admit the inevitability of death.

However, he doesn’t have the old glory to sink in. He is widely known as a man without edges, without faults or virtues, as a man who does not entirely exist. Within his profession, Vernon is revered as a nonentity. His only instinctive talent is making neither friends nor allies. Those characters drive Vernon to chase for success. He values his work as everything. And when he fears of death, he devotes himself to his work. Vernon has no choice but to devote himself to work. Although he knows he has no talents in work, he still wants to escape death anxiety that will around him if he is available through work.

Vernon is alone again. He stays in the bathroom and looks him in the mirror. He doesn’t believe this is him. Because he has a feeling that he is dead. He feels a sense of nothingness in his mind. Death anxiety is just like a cap holding his head so tightly that he can’t set himself free. He feels that his left hemisphere is totally divided from his right hemisphere. He is divided into two parts. One part is still alive and another part has stepped into the hell coming to death.

It can be founded that Vernon has deep death anxiety. And Vernon chooses the same way escape to deal with his death anxiety.

That’s why in the second chapter of the book when he realizes his aging he opens his desk drawer. He wants a couple of sharp taps to the side of the head by using a metal ruler left by Mobey, fourth editor in succession to fail to reverse the Judge’s declining circulation but interrupted by his secretary. The hint there is that we can’t escape the thought of death and aging by throwing ourselves into working. The work is everlasting, and so does the chasing of success. These won’t let us rest. So it is obvious that no one can deal with death anxiety by escaping. The more you want to escape, the more you suffer. The best way to get rid of something will never be escape. Escape is a behavior that lacks courage. It is immature. But people will take this way as soon as they face the death anxiety. It’s their first action that they think can help them deal with anxiety in a temporary time. When people face anxiety and don’t know how to solve it, they choose to escape. They hold the opinion that as long as they don’t face it directly and forget it by devoting themselves to another thing that they are good at or they want to do, they can feel comfortable. Indeed, from the examples of Clive and Vernon, escape is a useless way. On the contrary, they will feel more uneasy and anxious when they choose this way.

Chapter Two Denial and Existential Death Anxiety

In the previous part, we make a specific analysis of how each of the two men escape from their death anxiety. Their denial of their aging also reveals that they have existential death anxiety. According to Langs, it’s the necessary knowledge and awareness that natural life must end. Humans defend against this type of death anxiety through denial, which is affected through a wide range of mental mechanisms and physical actions, many of which also go unrecognized (31-53).

2.1 Clive’s “Genius” Dream

Just as Clive, who is anger because of his lacking inspiration which is caused by aging but he blames everything on “bureaucratic intrusion on his creative independence”, “the confusion about where exactly Giulio Bo, the great Italian conductor, would be able to rehearse the British Symphony Orchestra”, and “the mild but constant irritation of overexcited or hostile press scrutiny” (McEwan 42). He lies to himself that a good sleep may comfort his tingled left hand, but it won’t do any help. He needs to face his aging, which every rational human being must deal with one day. And of course, he has to deal with his crystallizing brain that atrophies day by day like all the old people do. But he just isn’t willing to face those terrible situations, and still dreams of writing the most magnificent Millennial Symphony and its irresistible melody remaining in people’s minds forever. He finally writes something even if he has no inspiration. But what he writes is something that has been displayed in other public place. He knows these music notes are similar to other musicians’ music note. It will be better to say that those music notes come from Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’. His works of art are copying from a famous musician. It is a ridiculous and absurd thing for Clive who is in pursuit of music creating. In his art, music is everything. He devotes his life and time to creating. However, the result is bad. It is a fact that he loses his inspiration in music and he can’t write anything creative or new any more. He denies that he copies other’s song. He insists that the song is his latest and new works of art.

Indeed, he is dealing with death anxiety through denial. He refuses to admit that he has no inspiration and he is not a genius any more. As a musician who creates music for many years, he knows the song doesn’t belong to him and he has no qualification to display it in public in his inner heart. Copying is an embarrassing thing in creating music. But Clive chooses to deny everything. He thinks it can help him to deal with his anxiety. He thinks it is a good way to comfort himself. He is great and excellent. He still has talents and he is a genius. He enjoys these feelings and is immersed in the artificial self-satisfaction.

Besides, Clive can’t stop thinking of the picture of nursing home, the TV in the dayroom, bingo, and the old men with their fags, and piss and dribbling spinning in his head. He always thinks of scenes of the hospital because he is ill and body is not good. He has insomnia caused by the existential death anxiety with the growing of age. And he finally ends it by having the sleeping pills and mothering himself with sensible thoughts. This is his physical illness which is caused by his aging. Those ideas hunt him all day long. He can realize that his body is in a bad condition subconsciously. One reason is that he feels the death anxiety is around him since his lover Molly dies. Another reason is that he really feels uncomfortable in physical aspect. Both psychological condition and physical aspect affect Clive deeply. But he still refuses to admit that he is aging. He is good at giving himself a comfort that he can finish his creating and he is still young. He holds the opinion that he if he can climb the hill he is still young and healthy. Going on a holiday can make him recover health and he will be no more troubled by his physical condition and his lack of talents and inspiration. In other words, he denies the fact and lives in a beautiful dream, which is made by himself. And when his sudden inspiration disappears, he blames others for it. He thinks it is other’s fault that breaks his talent. He doesn’t realize it’s inevitable for him to lose the inspiration. On one hand, death anxiety makes him trapped in the predicament that he has no inspiration and he is in bad health condition. In turn, the fact that he has no inspiration and he is in bad health condition makes him come clear to death anxiety. It is an endless circle. He can’t run away from it. So the first way escape doesn’t work. So he chooses to deny the fact. As long as he doesn’t admit these things, he can relieve the death anxiety. However, fact is fact. Even if people don’t admit it, it still happens really. People can imagine that this is not true, but people are doomed to face the reality and fact. Even if they can achieve a little comfort and relief through denial, it is not useful in the long term.

And eventually those drive him to decide to ask Vernon to give him euthanasia one day if he gets so old that loses his mind? It is the first and the only solution he comes up with when he faces up his fear, but one week later he reverses it. He falls into his denial again, and the questioning of their friendship pushes him into the illusion of his enormous talent and character.

And finally, the deadline and anxiety of his aging drive him crazy. He copies Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ as his inspiration even it sounds to the innocent ear as though it had been anticipated or developed elsewhere in the score. (64) He knows that, but he denies it and sees it as the exalted nature of his mission, and of his ambition, to be a person like Beethoven. Until he dies, he is still in the dream that he is a genius like Shakespeare, as he always shapes in his mind.

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