Kitty’s Growth and Self-actualization in The Painted Veil--From the Perspective of Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

Abstract William Somerset Maugham is a controversial English writer in literary。 Some critics regard him as “in the very first row of the second-raters” because of his lack of figure of speech and language。 However, he has become one of the most popular writers in the 20th century and his works are widely read in the world。 Most researches on Maugham’s works mainly focus on his three long novels Of Human Bandage, The Moon and Sixpence and The Razor’s Edge, and there are only a few researches specializing on The Painted Veil which describes the unfortunate marriage life between the hero Walter and the heroine Kitty。 So far researches on this novel have been mainly related to the themes of Chinese image, the view of marriage, Kitty’s self-redemption and self-realization。 74870

This paper tries to analyze the heroine Kitty’s growth and self-actualization from the perspective of Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory, a new perspective。 As Kitty’s psychology changes a lot after she goes to the Mei-tan-fu, a cholera infected place, her behavior is also motivated by different levels of needs, which exactly conforms to Maslow’s need hierarchy theory。 Therefore, this paper applies Maslow’s need hierarchy theory to analyze Kitty’s growth and self-actualization。 It is hoped that this paper will help people to have a clear picture of The Painted Veil and a better understanding of the human psychology change。 Moreover, it can also give enlightenment to inpiduals that, when one is faced with problems, he can gain happiness as long as he can keep the awareness of rational needs and a clear direction towards self-actualization。 

Keywords: William Somerset Maugham；The Painted Veil；Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory; image; growth and self-actualization; 

从马斯洛需要层次理论分析《面纱》中凯蒂的成长与自我实现

摘  要威廉•萨默塞特•毛姆是一个在文学上有争议评价的英国作家。由于他匮乏的词汇及修辞，一些批评家将他视为“二等一流作家”。然而,他却是20世纪最受欢迎的作家之一,他的作品也被广泛阅读。国内外对毛姆作品的研究大多集中在他的三部长篇小说上：《人性的枷锁》、《月亮和六便士》以及《刀锋》，而对小说《面纱》的研究不多。小说《面纱》讲述了一段男主人公沃尔特和女主人公凯蒂之间不幸的婚姻故事。迄今为止有关这部小说的研究主要集中在《面纱》中所体现的中国形象、婚姻观和凯蒂的自我救赎和自我追求等方面。

本文运用马斯洛的需要层次理论分析了女主人公凯蒂去往霍乱肆虐的湄潭府后心理发生的许多改变,以及她的心理需求变化所激发的行为变化，由此解读了凯蒂的成长和自我实现。通过解读凯蒂在各个阶段的心理需求和行为变化，本文希望帮助人们对小说《面纱》有一个清晰的了解，并且更好地理解作者的创作意图。通过刻画这一人物形象，毛姆旨在告诉人们一个道理：当人们面对纷繁复杂的内心与外界困扰时应当认清自己合理的需要和方向，这样才能有效地实现自我价值，收获人生的幸福。

毕业论文关键词：威廉•萨默塞特•毛姆；《面纱》；马斯洛需要层次理论；人物形象；成长与自我实现

Contents

1。 Introduction 1

1。1 Brief Introduction of William Somerset Maugham and The Painted Veil 1

1。2 Significance of This Study 2

1。3 Structure of the Paper 2

2。 Literature Review