神话的诞生:“黑人摩西”哈丽雅特·塔布曼

How the Myth was Born: Harriet Tubman,the Black Moses

作为自我解放的南方逃奴和"地下铁路"运动的地方代理,哈丽亚特·塔布曼不仅以其被压迫种族救赎者的形象镌刻于美国黑人的群体记忆当中,同时也逐渐升华为整个美利坚民族的英雄符号,且历久不衰。本文认为,塔布曼的这种"神话化"现象是由黑人种族被压抑已久的内在渴望、塔布曼的个人传奇以及地下铁路运动的理想主义特质这三种力量汇合所造就的结果。

Harriet Tubman, a former southern runaway slave and later a local agent of Underground Railroad, was not only deeply engraved in the African American memories as the redeemer of the oppressed race, but was also gradually reincarnated into the heroic symbol of whole American nation. This article holds that the phenomenon of Tubman＇ s deification was due to three forces, namely, the long oppressed inner hunger of the black race, the personal legend of Tubman, and the idealistic na- ture of Underground Railroad.