虚幻的英国神话——再读《简爱》与《藻海无边》

On the Construction and Subversion of the English Mythologies in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea

《藻海无边》不仅重写了《简·爱》中疯女人的故事,还以细致入微的笔触对《简·爱》中文明康健、基督教使命和绅士风度等英国神话进行质疑,从而对构建英国民族身份的多重属性釜底抽薪,揭示英国神话的虚幻本质。

Jean Rhys＇ Wide Sargasso Sea bears a close relation to Jane Eyre in terms of an idealized projec- tion of Englishness embedded in the Victorian canon. This paper examines Charlotte Bronte＇s construction of the English robustness,the Christian mission and gentlemanly manners and Rhys＇ subsequent rejection of them in Wide Sargasso Sea. As a result, the cultural mythologies of England are demystified and the English national identity is revealed as empty and deceptive.