The Interpretation Of Evelyn Waugh's A Handful Of Dust From The Perspective Of Symbolism

Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (1903-1966) was the most distinguished writer of English upper class after the First World War, the excellent master of irony and prose stylist in English literary history, and was called "one of the most talented novelists at his time".A Handful of Dust was finished in 1934 with the characteristics of implicitness and sternness, is regarded as Waugh's best and typical novel by critics. Since its publication, critics have studied the novel from many views but there are few people who have related to the use of symbolism of the novel. At the same time, these studies didn't pay much attention to the hidden intention which Waugh wanted to convey in the novel.From the perspective of symbolism and on the basis of careful reading the text, the paper interprets Waugh's ambivalent attitude towards the death of the old order and the birth of the new order, disclosing the essence of the two orders:a handful of dust.On the one hand, Waugh missed hopelessly the dead old order. The old order, modeled by "Victorian values", refers to the ruling order founded in the Victorian Age. It included the spiritual aspect (Victorian morality) and the material aspect (Victorian prosperity). In Waugh's eyes, the old order was good because during the period of the old order, the U.K was on the top of wealth and its economy was prosperous; people's life was peaceful and rich and they had real belief; the religion played an important role in daily life, especially in maintaining the harmony of family and the stability of matrimonial relationship. Loyalty, trust and responsibility were emphasized wherever among people or in the matrimonial relationship. Waugh hoped that the society could get back to the time of the old order from the bottom of his heart, but the replacement was the trend of historical development. Facing the harsh reality, Waugh was utterly helpless.On the other hand, Waugh was very disappointed at the birth of the new order. The new order was a kind order built by the bourgeoisie with the development of capitalism. It also included the spiritual and material aspects. Besides, the new order was more and more unacceptable for Waugh because of the destruction of the First World War and the global economic crisis. In the ruling of the new order, people lost their belief and churchgoing was just a matter of form. Mammonism was rampant and materialism prevailed. The bourgeoisie lived a decadent life and lingered in all kinds of parties all day long. Matrimonial relationship was full of betrayal and disloyalty.The paper interprets many symbols in the text which included substantial objects, man's behavior and some events. From the interpretation of these symbols, readers can clearly know that in Waugh's eyes, the essence of both the old order and the new order was a handful of dust. The old order had already become a handful of dust because of its death while the new order was nothing less than a handful of dust because of its decay.