Background-knowledge-of-Evelyn-《伊芙琳》背景资料.ppt

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Dublin had been the second city of the British Isles and one of the ten largest cities in Europe. Charming architecture, an elegant layout, and a bustling port made for a dynamic and agreeable urban life. But later in the century, Belfast had outstripped her as the great city of Ireland, and the economy was in shambles. Formerly fashionable Georgian townhouses became horrible slums, with inadequate sewage and cramped living conditions. Irish ports were in decline, and chances for advancement were slim for the lower and middle classes. Power rested in the hands of a Protestant minority. Not surprisingly, Dubliners dwells heavily on the themes of poverty and stagnation. At the turn of the 20th century, Ireland faced grand social unrest: the colonial domination of British government, the failure of Irish Independence, the ivory-towered Irish Renaissance and the invasion of Roman Catholicism, all of them made Ireland go into a dead end. The whole society was permeated with a kind of pessimistic mood. Ireland went into paralysis and Dublin was the center of it, which caused the pessimism, emptiness and perplexities of the Dubliners. * Historical Background of Eveline The Backgrounds For Ireland of the late 19th century 1. Political Background 2. Economy Background 3. Religious Background 4. Cultural Background 5. The feminist movement 1. Political Background Ireland had been dominated by English government rigorously. For the resistance of Irish people, British government always adopted the method of cruel suppression. In August 1848, after the Great Famine（大饥荒）, an insurrection(叛乱） happened in Ireland but was soon suppressed by British government. In 1848, Irish Republican Brotherhood started off under the lead of James Stephens. They were attempting to