The Immoral Duchess

WANG Qi

【Abstract】The essay is based on an excerpt of Hotel written by Arthur Hailey. Reader-response criticism is a theory about the connection between characters and readers. The real personalities of the characters and the inner meaning the author would like to express are actually closely related to the readers response. In this essay， it will focus on the Duchess， a character in Hotel， and analyse the immorality of the character.

【Key words】immorality； reader-response criticism； the Duchess of Croydon

1. Introduction

Its still an unsolved misery for human beings to define what is moral and what is immoral exactly. Scientists， philosophers， artists， politics and litterateurs， none of them is able to work this question out. Therefore， we might only analyse the character of the Duchess in this article through readers response.

According to the reader-response criticism， the response of reader is relevant to understanding a text， and is used as the focus of expressing the real meaning of a work of literature. There are different approaches within this school of theory： considering the work from individuals point of view or through communities mind. No matter what kind of perspective people take when they are reading， however， the criticism analyses the text based on readers response other than words themselves. It redefines the role of the text from an independent object into something that can only exist when it is read and interacts with the mind of the reader. Louise M. Rosenblatt proposed the idea in Literature as Exploration that meaning cannot be created unless readers and the text are combined together. Subjective critics like Stanley Fish also regard that the text has no meaning until it is read by a reader who creates the meaning， and it can only exist as activated by the mind of the reader.

Due to the “reader-oriented” theory， I hold the opinion that the morality or immorality of the Duchess in this text is actually judged by readers subjective reactions， but which is firmly “controlled” by the author. Owing to inherent emotions of human beings， the weaker the victims are and the more hateful the crime is， the stronger immorality of the Duchess can be demonstrated. Generally speaking， the Duchess of Croydon could be considered as an immoral person who killed people without much guilty conscience and refuted truth without much fearful hesitation. A villainous， disgusting character is gradually shaped by intended arrangements set by the author. Showing a strong contrast with other two protagonists in this short excerpt – the Duke and Ogilvie gives rise to the immoral figure eventually.

2. Comparison with the Duke

In the first place， the Duchess was quite dominant and sophisticated in comparison with her husband. At the very beginning of the text， when the ill-disposed detective arrived， “The Duchess went to the door herself.” while “the Duke faced them uncertainly with his back to a window.” According to the opposite reactions， readers can easily evoke an idea that its the Duchess who took charge of the family. Moreover， the Duchess also straightforwardly denied his husbands idea， leaving not only an intelligent but also an extremely arrogant impression on readers. “Uncertainly” and “despairingly” are two adverbs Arthur Hailey used to portray the “weak” Duke， which also reflects the mighty personality of the Duchess from the side.

The comparison， therefore， strongly supports the idea of Duchesss immorality. In accordance with the theory of Aesthetics of Reception， the readers role in literature is vitally important， and there would be no literary work at all without participation of readers. What readers can feel through the sharp contrast between the Duke and the Duchess is the actual meaning the writer was willing to express. Readers are endowed with certain characteristics and perform special functions here. The timid figure of the master provides a sense of sympathy compassion for readers， leading to the creation of an uncomfortable feeling towards the heroine. With readers particular function of revealing personalities of the character， the immorality of the Duchess appears little by little.

3. Comparison with Ogilvie

On the other hand， in addition to the contrast with her husband， there are more detailed depictions of the contradictory between the Duchess and Ogilvie. Taking paragraph twenty as a leading example， Ogilvie was the one who owned inclusive evidence， but he “flickered for an instant” while the accused lady “faced the grossness of the house detective squarely”. Due to the visible difference of social backgrounds between two characters， “inbred arrogance” of heroine has already kept one step ahead of the blackmailer at the beginning of the intimidation. Although Ogilvie used cigar as a symbol of confidence to “support” himself， he failed to overcome inherent awe of nobilities. The Duchess took full advantage of this mind and won the “negotiation” in the end. “Inferior” might be a mark of Ogilvie because of his lower social status. Whats more， the Duchess even “turned” the blackmailer into a victim with her excessive intelligence. “The Duchess of Croydon kept firm， tight rein on her racing mind.” She was always thinking about countermeasures， and she finally found one – money. The reason of Ogilvies final failure could be partly explained by his own greediness and foolishness， but the Duchesss cunning strategies also account for a large proportion. “Her smallness of mind” was aware of the shortcoming of the blackmailer， but she then chose to set the detective up rather than reveal it. Although the excerpt ended without definite answers from Ogilvie， there was no doubt that if he drove the car out， he would surely become the scapegoat of the crime.

This part of description set by the author could be partially explained by the central notion of “Horizons of Expectation”– the set of cultural， ethical， and literary expectations of a works readers. Abusing authority is a typical behaviour that ordinary people sick of. Owing to this cultural or ethical “expectation” of readers， the author “designed” the job and status of the Duke and Duchess purposefully. They were prestigious and respected British ambassadors， so trapping the pity detective into a desperate situation would be exceedingly easy if they owned the dominant proof. The disgusting personality and evil characteristic are moulded in this aspect. With readers negative response to the honoured Duchess， the immorality of her serpentine calculation was clearly displayed here.

4. Conclusion

In a word， its features of other characters that substantiate the immorality of the Duchess. With the deliberate depiction of a weak， blunt Duke and a rude， imposed detective， the immorality of the Duchess was entirely showed. All these plots and characterizations set in the essay cater to the subjective opinion of readers， and provide them with a vivid figure of immorality.

References：

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[2]Tompkins，Jane P.Reader-Response Criticism：From Formalism to Post-Structuralism[M].Baltimore，Maryland：The Johns Hopkins University Press，1980，41.

[3]Rosenblatt Louise M.Literature as Exploration[J].English Journal，1968，57：304.

[4]Yan N.The Optimization of Library's Reader-oriented Management Process[J].Sci-Tech Information Development & Economy，2014.

[5]Lin B.Reader's Horizon of Expectation and Translation[J].Journal of Fujian Commercial College，2008.

作者簡介：王琪（1995- ），女，上海市人，現就讀于華東理工大學英語系2013級。