Dame Van Winkle形象辨析

Character Analysis of Dame Van Winkle

华盛顿.欧文创作的短篇小说RipVan Winkle曾被誉为美国早期文学的精品。作者在刻画与主人公Rip相对的女性人物Dame Van Winkle的形象时,则使用消极的、侮辱性的、极端偏见的言辞,把她列入不足挂齿的"妇道人家",甚至贬低为"泼妇"、"悍妇"、"妖妇"。如今重读这篇经典我们发现:小说的男主人公Rip是个十足的懒汉懦夫、现实生活的逃避者和时代的落伍者,而他的妻子Dame Van Winkle则是一个含辛茹苦的善良母亲、一个兢兢业业的持家能手、一个敢于向男权社会怒吼和呐喊的伟大女性,同时也是父权社会的牺牲品和受害者。她的唠叨和抱怨,实际上是对女性艰难生活和不公命运的合理申诉,也是对性别歧视的严正宣战,更是对妇女自由、平等、尊严、幸福的正义呐喊,应该引起男人的理解、女人的同情以及社会的重视和关注。

The short story Rip Van Winkle created by Washington Irving has once been esteemed the best works of the early American literature. Rereading the classic nowadays we can have some new discoveries that Rip, the hero of the story, is totally a coward escaped from society and also an outsider of the time. But Dame Van Winkle, his wife, who is a victim of the man-dominated society, turns out to be a kind-hearted mother, a hard-working housekeeper and a courageous woman who dares to make her own voice heard in such a society. In fact, her nagging and complaining speak out loud for women＇ s own hard life and unfair fate. Meanwhile it is a justified fight against the bias and prejudice against women and a rightful cry for their freedom, equality, dignity and happiness. It is so much like the cry from the Madwoman in the Attic that it is high time for men to understand, for women to sympathize and for the whole society to attend and care about.