文化心理学视野下幸福感缺失因素透视——以《店员》中的海伦为例

The Impact of Value Systems on Subjective Well-being:an Interpretation of Helen's Tragedy from the Perspective of Cultural Psychology

美国梦的核心是人人有权追求幸福。在认知叙事学范畴里,幸福是一种结果激情,其叙事文本常常围绕事业和爱情展开;在文化心理学视野内,幸福是个体对生活满意度和正负情感的主观判断,一定程度上是特定文化在个体心理上的投射之物。本文将上述两种理论结合,分析《店员》中第二代犹太移民海伦在美国和犹太双重文化压力之下的心理状态和变化,指出两种文化价值观的异质性是导致海伦美国梦想破灭,幸福感缺失的重要因素。

＂American Dream＂at its core is about the pursuit of happiness. Helen in The Assistant strives to achieve her American Dream of higher education and happy marriage. She fails in the end when none of her dreams comes true. The theories of cultural psychology are applied to interpret this tragedy： American and Jewish cultural norms dually dictate to Helen diverged behavioral appropriateness,and each in its own way moderates the types and strategies of goals Helen pursues,making it difficult for her to follow the norms of either.