道德伦理与人生选择:论《小妇人》中乔的爱情与婚姻

Moral Study on the Ending of Little Women

19世纪美国女作家路易莎·梅·奥尔科特的《小妇人》是其一生文学创作的代表作品。多年来,评论界对作家安排乔舍弃青梅竹马的富家子弟劳里而嫁给了又老又穷的教授巴尔这一结尾做出了各种解读。这些批评多从女权主义角度切入,通过论据翔实的传记性分析来解释作家的创作意图;然而对于作品本身的研究,特别是作为贯穿全篇的道德主题在乔的最终人生选择上所起到的作用,并没有进行深入的探讨。因此,本文将集中从小说的道德主题入手,结合作家创作背景,从作品中反映的文学与道德伦理的关系,道德的超前性特点在作品中的体现及作为道德与信仰结合的超验主义女权思想在小说中的作用这三方面来阐释乔的个人成长,从道德伦理的视角来解读乔的最终生活选择。

Little Women is the representative work of Louisa May Alcott, a renowned 19 century woman writer. For the past years, various interpretations have been given to account for Jo’s choice of marriage at the end of the book. Most critics study the book from Feminist perspective and interpret the ending based on the biography of the author. Few of them touch upon the moral theme in the novel and its influence on Jo’s choice. This paper carries a thorough study on the importance of the moral theme from historical point. It discusses the relationship of literature and moral ethics; moral ahead of time; the combination of moral and belief in Transcendental Feminism.