美国女作家凯特·肖邦的《觉醒》主题分析

An Analysis of the Theme of Kate Chopin’ s The Awakening

美国女作家凯特·肖邦发表于1899年的代表作《觉醒》在半个多世纪之后被重新发现,成为美国20世纪最重要的小说之一。这本书的主题是女性的自我觉醒、自我实现,肖邦描写了女主人公埃德娜从觉醒到自杀的精神探索过程,对女性性征、母亲身份与女性自我身份认同、女性主体性等问题做了超越时代的思考,触及了女性命运的核心。

The Awakening,Kate Chopin’s masterpiece published in 1899,was rediscovered in the 1950s and became one of the most important American novels in the 20th century.The theme of this book is women’s self-awakening and self-realization.Chopin describes the process of the heroine Edna’s spiritual exploration from awakening to suicide,and thinks about the femininity,women’s self-identity and motherhood and women’s subjectivity ahead of her time,which touches upon the essence of women’s destiny.