The great French writer Hugo put forward the famous "principle of contrast between beauty and ugliness" in his article "Cromwell's Preface". His "Notre Dame de Paris" is a model work that applies this principle. ; and Baudelaire, another influential poet and literary theorist in France, advocated the theory of "ugliness as beauty", and his "Flowers of Evil" is the representative work of this theory. "For these two masters People have conducted in-depth discussions on Hugo's literary and artistic thoughts from different aspects and given high evaluations. "One of the views is that Hugo's principle of contrast between beauty and ugliness follows the logic of contrast and does not change the nature of the thing itself; while Waves Dreier's "taking ugliness as beauty" changes the nature of things on both sides of the contradiction":

Both aesthetics are concrete reflections of things. In fact, the contrast between beauty and ugliness and the use of ugliness as beauty The application of principles does not change the nature of things themselves, but only changes the original appearance of things, and they change the appearance of things in the opposite direction. "The contrast between beauty and ugliness widens and expands the distance between beauty and ugliness. It makes beauty The more beautiful, the ugly becomes uglier, and using ugliness as beauty shortens the gap between beauty and ugliness, making the ugly less ugly, which also means making the beautiful less beautiful. "The contrast between beauty and ugliness and using ugliness as beauty are both correct and effective ways to artistically reflect social life." The principle of contrast between beauty and ugliness advocates putting two opposite things together for comparison, effectively highlighting the contradiction between them. , forming a huge contrast, thus more profoundly revealing the opposite essential characteristics of the two things"

In his "Notre Dame de Paris", Hugo applied his principle of contrast between beauty and ugliness. A kind of extreme "Beauty and ugliness in the work are not simple contrasts, but intricately intertwined, forming a sharp contradiction and strong conflict." The heroine Esmeralda is the embodiment of beauty, from appearance to They all show beautiful models in their hearts. Quasimodo, the bell ringer, looks ugly but has a pure and kind heart. Claude, the archdeacon, looks sanctimonious on the outside but sinister and vicious on the inside. Phoebus, the captain of the guard, looks chic on the outside but is despicable and selfish on the inside. "These characters themselves have obvious contrasting characteristics: Esmeralda's internal and external contrasts complement each other in perfect harmony; Quasimodo's ugly appearance contains a noble soul; Claude and Phoebus are known for their good looks. "The appearance reflects the ugly soul" and what is more important is the strong contrast and sharp contrast between them: in front of Esmeralda's perfection and beauty and Quasimodo's ugly appearance and inner beauty, Claude appears "Especially ugly, Phoebus is also particularly despicable and trivial." Here, the use of contrast between beauty and ugliness achieves an idealized effect. The two types of beautiful images of Esmeralda and Quasimodo are in contrast to the ugly characters. Under the light of beautiful people, the two clowns, Claude and Phoebus, are even more beautiful and gorgeous! They are dazzling, and their images are even more obscene! Their souls are dirty and disgusting. The theory of using ugliness as beauty is The specific expression of the author's worldview and methodology in the field of aesthetics; it emphasizes that there is beauty in ugliness, treating ugliness as beauty, turning decay into magic, and letting ugly things also show their beauty.

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Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil", from its general title to the content of its chapters, is a typical proof of the practice of this theory." The so-called "Flowers of Evil" is the flower of evil. To be more specific, it is the flower found in evil, or there are flowers in evil. Does this kind of flower of evil change the nature of evil? No, it just shows that this evil is not completely evil, but an evil. There are also good elements and flower elements, which naturally reduce the degree and weight of evil. From another perspective, does this kind of flower cease to be a flower? No. It should be affirmed, it is still a flower. Flower, but it is not as bright and beautiful as other flowers, because it already contains elements of evil, or it is a flower born from evil." In the specific poem "Flower of Evil", the author expresses the idea that ugliness is beauty. There are two theoretical methods: one is to dig out the opposites of beauty and good from the normal ugly and evil things. For example, in 5 Blessings 6, the author combines his mother’s curse, his wife’s poisonous words and the world’s All bad words are regarded as blessings to oneself; this is different from the secular aesthetics and value theory, as the poem says: Suffering is the panacea, enough to cure our corrupt morality, suffering is the best! Incomparably pure The essence is enough to inspire strong and unyielding people to welcome the divine joy! (Translated by Zhang Qiuhong)

The elixirs and essences here are only the author’s subjective understanding, and do not replace objective things, nor do they change them. The nature of those curse words and insults; and treating those dirty words with this kind of aesthetic taste can achieve the effect of turning decay into magic." The second is to combine and use contradictory concepts, or to reveal the beauty in ugly things. Genes may expose the rottenness in positive things." For example:

I drink your breath, oh, sweetness, oh, poison, where can I find your lazy beauty? ( "The Balcony" translated by Qian Chunqi)

The sky is sad and beautiful, like a big altar! ("Harmony at Dusk" translated by Guo Hongan)

Lazy baby, I love to look at it so much Your slender figure (Translated by Zheng Klu, "Dancing Snake")

Oh, curls, oh, full of the fragrance of laziness! I will find you again, oh, plump laziness! (Translated by Guo Hongan, "Hair")

Aren't you also like me, an autumn sun, oh, I am so pure, so ruthless Margery" (translated by Chen Jingrong in "Autumn")

In some of these poems Here, beauty and ugliness intersect with each other, or show the two sides of things, such as: the balcony is both sweet and poisonous, the sky is sad and beautiful (sad and beautiful), Margery is so pure and so ruthless; or it shows the opposite sides of things, There are negative words to describe beautiful things, such as: lazy beauty, lazy treasure, lazy fragrance, etc., and there are praise words to describe morbid things, such as: plump tiredness. No matter which situation it is, they are all It does not change the nature of the things described in the poem, but only adds the connotation of the things, making them richer and more complicated." The most typical one is what is written in the poem "You want to bring the whole universe into your boudoir" : "Oh, sinful queen, oh slut, it's you, the bad beast, the talent that creates genius")

Ugh, the greatness of filth! The despicability of sublime! Let filth be combined with greatness, so that Greatness is mixed with filth, and filth is mixed with greatness. Therefore, filth is not so disgusting, and greatness is not so fascinating. The same is true for the combination of sublimity and despicability."

Both epistemologies are both It is a direct grasp of the objective. Dialectical materialism believes that the objective world is in a process of development and change of contradictory opposition and dialectical unity. "The principle of contrast between beauty and ugliness and the theory of using ugliness as beauty are actually viewed according to two lines of understanding." In the material world, they all conform to the epistemology of dialectical historical materialism.

The theoretical basis for the principle of contrast between beauty and ugliness is Hugo's famous quote in his "Cromwell Preface":

Modern poetry will feel that not everything in all things is equal. Human beauty, feeling that ugliness is next to beauty, deformity is next to beauty, vulgarity is hidden behind sublimity, evil and good coexist, darkness and light are intertwined." This is not so much a manifesto of romantic literature. It is a correct reflection of objective reality, and it is also a theoretical perspective that meets the requirements of realist literature. It is a backlash against the previous classical literature that only focused on beauty and only described the sublime. It is an aesthetic concept that requires a comprehensive reflection of real life. "In fact, in the field of aesthetics, it is also a world full of contradictions, that is, beauty and ugliness coexist!

Hugo and Baudelaire, two great talented artists, through their own The creations have successfully implemented their respective theoretical propositions. "The principle of contrast between beauty and ugliness expounded by Victor Hugo and his outstanding works represented by "Notre Dame de Paris" vividly demonstrate the two sides of the objective world: beauty and ugliness, which are both It is natural and contradictory; it clearly expresses the tendency of the author's subjective understanding: beauty defeats ugliness, and ugliness transforms into beauty. "Baudelaire's insistence on using ugliness as beauty and his "Flowers of Evil" 〉 is a model of beautiful poems that not only profoundly reveals the relationship between the appearance and essence of things: ugliness contains beauty, and people need to understand and examine ugliness dialectically; it also creates a new approach in the field of aesthetics: ugliness is another aspect of literary creation. "Half of the Country" is another important way to reveal the true meaning of life and beautify the human spirit. "Although the two art masters use different aesthetic perspectives, they both lead people from the aspects of theory and practice with sincerity and kind wishes." Distinguish ugliness from ugliness! Discover beauty from ugliness. In the art gallery where beauty and ugliness are two things! Two-color construction, grasp and explore the aesthetic implications of the binary opposition of beauty and ugliness in the real world and its dialectical transformation. "Hugo Although the contrast between beauty and ugliness did not change the nature of things, Baudelaire's use of ugliness as beauty did not change the nature of things either."