Abstract: The Gadfly was the first novel of Ethel Lilian Voynich’s. It was published in Britain in 1897. The Gadfly reflects the struggle between revolutionists and Austrian rulers in Italy in the 1930s. Arthur had suffered a lot through his youth, but finally he became a splendid revolutionist. When he came back to Italy, he led the revolution and sacrificed his life in the end. This paper analyzes the three stages of Arthur’s growth, in order to find the changes that Arthur grew from a religious Christian to an infidel revolutionist. This paper studies on the changes of Arthur’s appearance, character and belief on different stages and explores the reasons for these great changes. 

Key words: Ethel Lilian Voynich; The Gadfly; growth process

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction.1

1.1 Introduction to Voynich and The Gadfly.1

1.2 Literature Review1

2. Growing from a Passionate Young Man to a Revolutionist3

2.1 Arthur’s Youth.3

2.2 Arthur’s Glories.5

2.3 Arthur’s Sacrifice.9

3. Conclusions.10

Bibliography12

Acknowledgements13