| This study presents a comparative analysis of Theodor Fontane's Irrungen, Wirrungen (1888) and Effi Briest (1895), Anthony Trollope's The Claverings (1867), Phineas Finn (1869), and Phineas Redux (1874), and Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth (1905) and The Age of Innocence (1920). The purpose of this comparative work is to demonstrate one of the main, most significant similarities among those novels, namely their ambivalent moral tone. And this purpose is accomplished through a close examination of the novels and the use of the historical, sociological, cultural, philosophical, and biographical approaches.; In those novels the characters attempt to achieve self-fulfillment in their dual roles as private and social beings. They wish to respect their personal feelings, uphold their private convictions, and maintain their dignity as individuals, but they also realize that as members of society, they cannot shirk the burden of social obligations and responsibilities. Society is portrayed as a very powerful, influential, and intimidating force, and in their tortuous quest for self-fulfillment, the characters have to choose between resistance and resignation to society's values, rules, and demands. The process of making a moral choice is never easy, but he/she can still enjoy some happiness if one impulse can keep the other under domination. The most excruciating agony occurs when the two conflicting inclinations keep pulling the character in two opposite directions with equal strength. In these novels the conflict between resistance and resignation to society is mainly depicted through complex and controversial love-relationships. A character's choice of a particular love-relationship represents his/her choice of particular values.; Chapter I explains the purpose of this comparative study. In Chapter II the characters' predispositions, upbringings and environmental circumstances, as well as pertinent social and historical backgrounds, are presented. Chapter III analyzes the labyrinthian love-relationships of the characters. The characters' crucial choices and their consequences are encompassed in Chapter IV. Chapter V, assisted by the discussions in the previous chapters, points out the factors which help form the conclusion that although Fontane, Trollope, and Wharton expose the flaws and evils of their respective societies, their novels, in various degrees, are imbued with moral ambivalence. |
