安能辨我是雄雌——由《魔旦》与《蝴蝶君》的比较分析看华人(男性)的文学再现策略

On the Literary Strategy for Representing Chinese Males in Modan and M.Butterfly

一直以来,由于美国主流文化传统的干预,美国华人失去了在文学场域自我再现的机会。而在种族刻板印象的作用之下,华裔男性更是屡屡被定型为阴柔的负面形象。本文借用朱莉娅·克里斯蒂娃(Julia Kristeva)的互文性理论,对严歌苓的小说《魔旦》与黄哲伦的戏剧《蝴蝶君》进行比较与剖析,旨在探讨两位华人作家如何运用其迂回的方式颠覆西方对于华裔男性的成见。他们在作品中所表现出的具有讽刺意味的东方再现策略,也正是论文试图通过比较以阐明的重点所在。

Excluded from the mainstream cultural tradition of the U.S., Chinese Americans have been denied the opportunity to represent themselves in the literary field for a long time. Under the operation of ethnic stereotyping, the Chinese males are more than often negatively stereotyped. In my paper, I attempt to apply the intertextuality theory elaborated by Julia Kristeva to a comparison of Modan and M.Butterfly. Yan Geling and David Henry Hwang undermine the stereotypical impression of Chinese males in a devious way. The aim of my comparison between the two works is to investigate the use of satire by Chinese American writers in representing the Chinese self.