华盛顿·欧文笔下的女性形象解析

On Washington Irving's Characterization of Females

作为美国文学的拓荒者,华盛顿·欧文早已跻身于美国文学经典作家行列。欧文在《见闻札记》中以其轻松幽默的笔调塑造了一个个栩栩如生、充满人性张力的人物形象,然而,欧文笔下的女性形象似乎并未跳出"女性滞定型"的窠臼,"瑞普·凡·温克尔"中的温克尔太太以及"睡谷的传说"中的卡特里娜小姐分别代表了魔鬼与天使的形象。欧文对女性人物的形象刻画既是他本人对女性的片面认知所致,也是西方传统二元对立思维的又一体现。

Washington Irving established his reputation in American literature as a classic writer by writing numerous fantastic short stories. He created many characters full of life and humanity. But it seems that fe- male characters in Irving~ s short stories are quite stereotyped in one sense or another, Mrs. Winkle and Miss Katrina are depicted as demon and angel, for example. Washington Irving＇s unfair treatment to female characters may originate in the fact that he was profoundly influenced by traditional binary oppositions as well as his biased attitude toward females.