“神圣的”暴力与女性政治——卡里尔·邱吉尔戏剧《老猫》中的猎巫书写研究

“Holy” Violence and Female Politics: A Study of Witch-Hunting in Caryl Churchill’s Play Vinegar Tom

当代英国女性剧作家卡里尔·邱吉尔的戏剧《老猫》以英国边远乡村为背景讲述了一个女巫的认定、搜捕和处罚的故事,反映的是15世纪至18世纪期间席卷欧洲的"猎巫行动"的历史。通常认为"猎巫行动"是出于基督教动因,致力于清除异教徒的影响,以保证上帝的绝对权威,因而针对巫师的残酷手段被赋予了正义的名义,称为"神圣的暴力"。然而,邱吉尔的暴力叙事有其身份动因,她意图通过女巫遭受的身体暴力揭示在历史本质上就是女性受到迫害的历史,从而展示女性在男权社会中的可悲命运、所面临的痛苦和迫害,以此引起社会各个阶层对于女性困境的关注,显示了剧作家将历史与女性现实困境相联结的政治策略。

The play Vinegar Tom by the contemporary British female playwright Caryl Churchill tells the story of the identification,hunting and punishment of witches against the background of remote villages in England.The play reflects on the history of"witch hunting"sweeping through Europe from the 15th century to the 18th century.It is generally believed that the"witch hunting"is motivated by Christianity.However,Churchill’s violence narration has its own identity motive.She intends to reveal that witches’history is essentially the history of women’s persecution through the physical violence suffered by witches.The play indicates the playwright’s political strategy of linking history with women’s realistic plight.