The Sphinx Factor and Ethical Dilemmas in The Intruder
Abstract
“The Intruder “ is a short story written by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges in his later period. In this novel，Borges
has a obvious change from his previous narrative style, creating a shocking story with a simple plot, characters, and scenes. By
depicting the tragic drama caused by the emotional entanglement between the Nilsens and a woman, it shows the tragic character
of the suburban commoners in the old days. This paper analyzes the ethical dilemma faced by the Nilsens in the novel from the
perspective of literary ethics, and analyzes the ethical conflicts formed in the process of combining and transforming the Sphinx
Factor, with the aim of revealing the ethical nature of the tragedy in The Intruder and pointing out that the process of ethical choice
itself is an unavoidable tragedy.
has a obvious change from his previous narrative style, creating a shocking story with a simple plot, characters, and scenes. By
depicting the tragic drama caused by the emotional entanglement between the Nilsens and a woman, it shows the tragic character
of the suburban commoners in the old days. This paper analyzes the ethical dilemma faced by the Nilsens in the novel from the
perspective of literary ethics, and analyzes the ethical conflicts formed in the process of combining and transforming the Sphinx
Factor, with the aim of revealing the ethical nature of the tragedy in The Intruder and pointing out that the process of ethical choice
itself is an unavoidable tragedy.
Keywords
The Intruder; Sphinx Factor; Ethical dilemma; Ethical choice
Full Text:
PDFReferences
[1] Nie Zhenzhao. Literary ethics criticism: basic theory and terminology [J]. Foreign Literature Studies, 2010,32(1):12-22
[2] Nie Zhenzhao. Literary ethics criticism: ethical choices and the Sphinx factor [J]. Foreign Literature Studies,2011,33(06):1-13
[3] Argentina] Borges. Borges’ Collected Works: A volume of literary autobiography [M]. Translated by Wang Yongnian. Haikou: Hainan International Press and Publication Center, 1996
[4] Zhang Yan. The Lost Path of Humanity: An Analysis of Human Nature in The Third Man [J]. Popular Literature and Art (Theory), 2008(09) 61
[5] Zhao Deming. 20th Century Latin American Fiction [M]. Kunming: Yunnan People’s Publishing House, 2003
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18686/ahe.v6i16.5281
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
