欲望之城,自由之城——《卡罗尔》之女性主义批评

City of Desire,City of Freedom——Feminist Criticism on Carol

《卡罗尔》是美国侦探小说家帕特里夏·海史密斯唯一一部爱情小说,于2015年改编为电影并摘得2015年戛纳电影节最佳女主角奖项。小说描述一对女性恋人如何相互吸引、并共同成长的故事。不同于以往的同性恋小说,这部小说的圆满结局让无数读者看到了希望。作为一名女性作家,海史密斯在这部小说中无情地揭露了性别和异性恋是父权社会构建的统治基础,是父权社会对女性实施压迫和控制的手段。她鼓励女性勇敢面对自己的内心和需要,颠覆父权社会的传统,摆脱性别和异性恋的桎梏,追求并争取包括性取向权利在内的各种社会权利的自由。

Carol is the only love novel by American detective novelist Patricia High smith. In 2015, it was adapted to be a movie by the same name, and won the 2015 Cannes Film Festival Award for best actress. In the novel, a pair of female loves attracts each other and grows together. Different from the previous lesbian novels, its readers are highly inspired by its happy ending. As a female writer, High smith mercilessly exposes the fact that gender and heterosexuality composes the foundation of the patriarchal society, as well as a tool to oppress and control women. She encourages women to follow their heart and meet their own needs, challenge the patriarchal society tradition, get rid of the shackles of gender and heterosexuality to strive for a variety of social rights including the freedom of sexual orientation.