"The English Patient" is a bit more radical than the above-mentioned works: Catherine and Jeffrey's marriage is a normal one, without coercion or utilitarian elements; have feelings. This makes the film's moral stance somewhat ambiguous, and it takes more effort to defend it. Perhaps because of this, Jeff, Catherine, and Emmaus all died one after another in the film, which made the moral dilemma they once faced incomprehensible. In particular, Catherine's tragic death, Emma's hard work to save her, and his long-lasting nostalgia for her later made this love even more poignant and moving. However, even if death does not intervene in solving this love triangle, we can still feel the tendency of the film: a love that is more humane and can help life to a high-quality and rich realm (that is, the love between Emmaus and Catherine), its value higher.
At this point, we may be able to make a conceptual distinction between "morality" and "ethics" in order to further explore the moral position of The English Patient.
Strictly speaking, "morality" refers to the existing and specific norms of interpersonal relationships in a certain society. It often appears in the form of clear rules and is mainly limited to the operational level; "ethics" is a broader It includes the investigation of the origin and development of morality, striving to transcend the timeliness of existing morality, and exploring the ideal code of conduct for human beings in the future and the perfect state of existence. Morality has a strong epoch, and is affected by many factors such as religion, politics, economy, etc., often after the passage of time, many moral principles will become invalid. Ethics is of course also limited by the researcher's era, but ethicists generally have a broader vision and a more tolerant attitude. They try to explore moral ideals that are more in line with human nature and can promote the harmonious development of society. According to this distinction, the ancient Chinese widow's observance was moral, but not ethical; Anna Karenina's departure from Karenin violated morality, but did not violate ethics. And many of the above-mentioned films that reflect extramarital affairs have also established themselves on an ethical standpoint. Therefore, the theorist Parker said, "The spirit of art is fundamentally ethical, but also fundamentally immoral."
The ethical ideals of mankind are always broader and richer than the moral goals of the past era, so the development of society is bound to be Causing constant changes in ethics. Moral statute is the ladder to realize the ideal of ethics. If ethics is "big good", morality is "small good". After clarifying this point, we can understand that "the impact and challenge of art on the actual moral system does not constitute any contradiction with its call for good ethics." Art should have more freedom and autonomy than other humanities, so it The ethical significance of the "Literature retrials, literature grants amnesty, and it provides moral standards for the future." Good works of art don't have to be moral models, but they should have ethical concerns.
From this, looking back at The English Patient, its ethical stance is very clear - the protagonists break the marriage precepts because they have a deeper and more intense love; they lift the ban on desire, but they do not stay at the level of indulgence. The love of the two protagonists enriches their spirits, makes their souls more joyful, and leads their lives towards "the great good". Only such works can become excellent works. Those works that only break the precepts for the sake of breaking the precepts and indulge the indulgence for the sake of indulgence do not even have "little goodness". The "breaking" of art works is to free human nature from all kinds of imprisonment and slavery. Art's challenge to current morality is to help people build a richer personality and live a happier and more fulfilled life.
From the perspective of the historical changes of morality, we can also find that modern ethics is increasingly turning from absolutism to relativism, from the altar of rationalism to the field of irrationalism, from a certain principle of atonement and suffering to hedonism, and from monism to pluralism . Individual temperaments and wishes are increasingly tolerated and respected, and diverse ways of living are increasingly understood. There may be a tendency to be too frivolous and selfish, but in general, on the basis of not harming society and others, respecting individuality and pursuing happiness should be the future moral direction. This is also the ethical tendency revealed by The English Patient.
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