“布道者”约翰:言说主体还是沉默他者?——赫斯顿《约拿的葫芦蔓》身体现象学解读

“Preacher” John: An Articulating Subject or a Silent Other?——A Body Phenomenological Interpretation of Hurston’s Jonah’s Gourd Vine

赫斯顿的小说《约拿的葫芦蔓》塑造了具有出色口语表达能力的黑人男性形象。黑人男性凭借言说这一身体动作传承了非裔传统口述文化的精髓,并努力争取主体性的建构。然而,在黑人男性通过言说的身体进行自我赋权的过程中,也对黑人女性进行了贬抑与规训,并参与了黑人共同体内部复杂的话语协商。与此同时,黑人男性在面对白人时的沉默又使他的身体丧失了言说的权利。在赫斯顿看来,言说的身体,对于黑人男性而言,是一把双刃之剑。

Hurston’s novel Jonah’s Gourd Vine creates a black male image with a wonderful oral expression ability.The black man inherits the African American oral tradition and tries to construct the subjectivity by his body action-articulation.However,in the process of the empowerment,the black male suppresses and disciplines the black female with his articulating body and gets engaged in the complicated discourse negotiations in the black community.Meanwhile,the black man loses his oral ability and becomes silent in his confrontation with the white people.In Hurston’s eyes,the articulating body is a two-sided sword for the black man.