An Analysis Of Empathy In Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge is a recent work of American writer Elizabeth Strout,which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009.It is a collection of thirteen short stories set in post 9/11 which depict a variety of characters who are ostensibly living a peaceful life in Crosby town,but in fact confronted with the dangers of fragmented interpersonal relationships and a barren spiritual world.However,there is still some hope for people to get close to each other and thus realize mutual redemption.The9/11 attack has become traumatic memories of American people.The collapse of religious belief in God and the hidden threat of death have destroyed the fragile interpersonal relationships and affected the social stability and harmony.Nevertheless,it is possible for people to empathize with others and improve their empathic capability more effectively due to their similar traumatic experiences and common mental dilemmas.In the light of empathy theory of Martin L.Hoffman,this thesis makes an analysis of symptoms of empathy of three protagonists in different moral situations,explains different modes of empathy aroused in these empathic phases,explores the effects of empathy on the protagonists and discusses the double effects of redemption of empathy in post 9/11 society.As a major character in the stories,Olive has witnessed the distress of different types of the traumatized people.Her empathic distress is aroused and she tries to help them out by means of other-focused role-taking empathy.It is found out that through empathizing with others,Olive cures her own personal trauma when the distress of the victims is relieved.Henry is faced with contradictions between empathic emotions and marriage morality during the empathy with Denise.Henry opts for self-focused role-taking empathy to help Denise to attenuate her distress of bereavement,but he falls in the extramarital affair with her and becomes a participant in transgression,confronting with moral predicaments: on the one hand,he feels guilty due to his failure of response to Denise’s anticipation;on the other hand,he feels sorry to his wife because of his violation of marriage morality.Finally,Henry discontinues the empathy with Denise because this empathic experience provokes him to reexamine his marriage life and find that his true love is his wife.Christopher is deeply affected by the abnormal family relationship.His mother’s overwhelmed power assertion incapacitates him for empathizing with others in his childhood.When he grows up,he chooses to leave home and start his own family life.In the guidance of his present wife,Christopher gradually recovers from depression and regains his empathic ability.The feeling of guilt due to departure from parents triggers his wish to reconcile with his mother and restore the broken mother-child relationship by means of conversation.During the empathy with his mother,Christopher bravely expresses himself and realizes reconciliation with the past with a positive attitude towards life.Under the background of post 9/11,people are affected by severe mental traumas.The operation of empathy thus plays an indispensable role in stabilizing fragile interpersonal relationships and promoting emotional communications between people.During the empathic interaction,the bystander’s helping behaviors motivated by altruism could not only cure the helped,but also improve self-cognition and realize self-healing of the helper.Furthermore,as a motive base of caring,empathy is beneficial for the bystander to introspect and improve the level of moral cognition.Therefore,as a vital channel for emotional communications between people,empathy could exert considerable influences on transmitting individual concern and love and rebuilding harmonious social relationships.