从郑钗香悲剧看男权社会妓女从良之路

A Prostitute’s Way of Starting a New Life in Patriarchal Society from Zheng Chai-xiang’s Tragedy

郑钗香是清末一名妓女。她才貌双全,重节守信,想过上普通女人的生活,但事与愿违,她的回归遭到了当时县令张公的阻拦,后在郁闷中死去。故事的作者将造成其悲惨一生的原因归结为县令的摧花劈柳,但这只是表面现象。郑钗香回归之路的漫长根本在于男权社会里,男性赋予妓女背叛贞节的职责,她的行为刚好与男权社会的要求相反以及当时的人们受时代精神的影响,对妓女有很大的偏见,故她们的回归是很难的。

Zheng Chai-xiang is a prostitute in the late Qing Dynasty, endowed with beauty and talent, taking virgin seriously and also keeping promise. She wants to own a general woman’s life but things turn out contrary to her wishes. Mr. Zhang, a country magistrate, holds her return back. Finally she is dead gloomily. The author in this story attributes Zheng’s tragic life to Mr.Zhang’s destruction, which is superficial. In essence, her long return path lies in patriarchal society. The male entrust to prostitutes the duty of betrayal and Zhang’s behaviour is straightforward opposite to this demand. In addition, people’s concept at that time is involves a great bias on the prostitute and no doubt her return is quite tough.