Molar Line， Molecular Line， Line of Flight: On Decline and Fall and the Tradition of the English Gentleman

doi:10.15936/j.cnki.1008-3758.2023.02.016

Abstract

Abstract: The existing interpretations concerning the image of the English gentleman in Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall have largely neglected the paradox that Grimes， the “bounder”， is acclaimed as “a capital fellow” and even “the immortal” by two gentlemen， Paul and Prendergast. By drawing upon Deleuze's philosophy of desire， it can be discovered that the antithesis between the gentleman and the “anti-gentleman” in the novel represents the conflict between the capitalist moral constraint and the desire release， and is embodied in the three proletarians' differing attitudes towards the gentlemanly norm. At the end of the novel， the two gentlemen's compliments on Grimes， the “anti-gentleman”， indicate the awakening of the proletariat: The gentlemanly norm has been abused as a tool of capitalist oppression and moral bondage. Thus， the “anti-gentleman”， apparently going against social morality， symbolizes the proletariat's life force to break free from the bondage and release desire.

Key words: Evelyn Waugh; Decline and Fall; gentleman; desire; capitalism

CLC Number:

I106.4

LIN Wukai. Molar Line， Molecular Line， Line of Flight: On Decline and Fall and the Tradition of the English Gentleman[J]. Journal of Northeastern University(Social Science), 2023, 25(2): 136-143.

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