共名状态下“母亲”的伦理困境——社会学视角

Ethical Dilemma of The Mother in Common Name:From the Perspective of Sociology

《母亲》是赛珍珠荣获诺贝尔文学奖的七部作品之一,也是赛珍珠作品中最为独特的一部。"母亲"的共名身份,是在特定生存环境所编织而就的伦理关系网中确立的;其身份危机与角色冲突导致了一系列伦理困境:"母亲"的生命冲动与生活其间的社会空间、物质空间、精神空间冲突产生的伦理困境,诚实与谎言、忠诚与背叛、珍视生命与对生命扼杀两难导致的罪与罚的伦理困境,女性身份认同与性别歧视观念的矛盾导致的伦理困境等。赛珍珠用"共名"身份塑造的母亲形象,使"母亲"成为中国劳动母亲们的典型形象,因而超越了个体意义而具有了普适性特征。

The Mother belongs to the seven works by Pearl S. Buck that wins the writer the Nobel Prize for literature, and it is the most unique work among Buck＇ s works as well. The identity of the ＂mother＂ in common name is established in the network of ethical relationships in a specific living environment. The identity crisis and role conflict of the ＂mother＂ lead to a series of ethical dilemmas, i.e. ethical dilemma triggered by conflict between life impulse of the ＂mother＂ and her social space, material space and spiritual space, ethical predicament of sin and punishment generated by dilemma between honesty and deception, loyalty and betrayal, cherishing of life and killing of life, ethical dilemma resulted from contradiction between female identity recognition and gender discrimination notion. The image of the ＂mother＂ depicted by Pearl S. Buck in common name makes it a typical prototype for Chinese working mothers, therefore transcending individual significance and being characterized with universal applicability.