莫里森《慈悲》对西方传统女性气质的伦理反思

An Ethical Reflection of Traditional Western Femininity in Toni Morrison's A Mercy

在莫里森的小说《慈悲》中,主人公弗洛伦斯曲折的成长历程一直倍受关注。已有的文献更多地聚焦于女主人公弗洛伦斯成长困境的内在因素,对影响和制约其思想和行为的外在社会文化因素则缺乏足够的关注。本文认为,西方传统女性气质这一伦理身份在弗洛伦斯的自我迷失及其成长困境中扮演着重要的角色,而破除该女性气质神话的迷雾、重构自我主体意识则是佛罗伦斯走出成长困境的关键环节,同时也构成了该作的主体叙事结构。小说一方面通过主人公的内心独白对这一过程进行写实性再现,另一方面还通过"鞋子"这一中心意象对这一历程进行隐喻性和反讽性书写,两者一虚一实,对西方传统女性气质展开了深刻的反思。

In Morrison＇s A Mercy, the heroine Florens＇s twisty growth has always been the focus of attention. Yet the published literature has mainly focused on the internal elements that lead to the heroine＇s growth predicaments and has paid less attention to the external social and cultural elements that influence and restrict her thoughts and behaviors. This paper regards that the west traditional femininity as an ethical identity plays a significant role in Florens＇s loss of selfhood and her growth predicament, while the process of the heroine＇s disillusion with the misleading myth and reconstruction of her selfhood and subjectivity makes up the key steps for her to get out of her predicaments, and at the same time forms the novel＇s principal narrative structure. With the combination of a realistic representation of the process by the heroine＇s internal monologue and a metaphoric and ironic representation of the process by the charged image of ＂shoes＂, the novel gives the west traditional femininity an incisive introspection.