While literary critics acknowledge the amoral and criminal behavior of Thomas Ripley, the antihero in Patricia Highsmith’s Ripliad series, many critics fail to recognize Highsmith’s parables in connection to ethical responsibility to the Other and guilt because of falling into complete despair. By examining Ripley’s character through an ethical lens, I contend that Ripley’s inability to connect with others disallows him from engaging in moral behavior that would establish basic responsibility for others. This results in a repetitive cycle of criminality that leads to inner turmoil and a sickness of the spirit. This thesis analyzes the parables in Highsmith’s novels by applying Emmanuel Levinas’s ethics in relation with Soren Kierkegaard’s conception of human existence. Ripley lives a lonely existence because he is unaware of his ethical dilemma, covets wealth at all costs, and fails to recognize that his division from society is at the root of his infinite despair. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_78736 |
| Contributors | Leyva, Enma (author), Adams, Robert Don (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), Department of English, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 75 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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