一个青年女性艺术家的肖像画——论门罗的艺术家小说《家传家具》

The Portrait of a Woman Artist: On Alice Munro’s Künstlerroman “Family Furnishings”

艾丽丝·门罗被称为“作家的作家”,其短篇小说《家传家具》堪称一位青年女性艺术家的肖像画。该作品以一个成年女性艺术家的第一人称视角“我”,回顾了一位青年女性作家的成长经历,指出青年女性艺术家面临女性与艺术家双重身份构建的两难境地。本文以艺术家小说理论为出发点,从艺术家成长主题的三个层面,即心理层面上与家庭的对立、社会层面上自我身份的构建和创造性层面艺术观点的诞生,来阐释《家传家具》的艺术家小说特征,揭示门罗的青年女性艺术家小说与传统艺术家小说的区别,加深我们对文本以及门罗创作目的的理解。同时,本文指出“我”成为女性艺术家的过程也是女性主义意识逐渐增强的过程。“我”和表姑艾尔弗莱达为代表的两代加拿大女性艺术家之间存在着不可调和的矛盾。

Alice Munro is regarded as a "writer's writer,and her short story "Family Fumishings" is a vivid portrait of a young woman artist. From a first-person woman artisfs point of view, this story reviews the growth of a young woman artist and explores the dilemma of such dual identities as being both a woman and an artist. Regarding "Family Fumishings" as a kunstlerroman, this article discusses three aspects of its portrait of the artisfs growth, namely psychological conflict with her family, self-identity construction in the society and the formation of her own poetics. It points out the distinction between Munro's kunstlerroman focusing on a young female artist and the traditional kunstlerroman which generally features a male artist, and deepens our understanding of the short story as well as Munro's subtle and profound intention of creation. Meanwhile, this article argues that the narrator's artistic growth also indicates her increasing feminist consciousness. Moreover, there exists an unbridgeable gap between the two generations of Canadian female artists represented by the artist narrator and her artist aunt Alfrida respectively.