论安吉拉·卡特《新夏娃的激情》中的城市空间消解

The Deconstruction of Urban Spaces in Angela Carter’s The Passion of New Eve

安吉拉·卡特的《新夏娃的激情》是一部有极强空间感的作品,其主人公的性别身份变换与所处空间环境息息相关,体现了空间对于个体性别身份的形塑作用。社会空间常常在矛盾性中共存,彼此相互渗透重叠,本文因此选择小说前期纽约都市中的多维异托邦空间作为重点研究对象。通过分析纽约市中本土与异域空间、公共与私人空间、理性与秘术空间的互相消解,本文意在说明卡特如何通过都市空间描写反映了性别二分话语下所掩饰的真实。在卡特笔下那个充满文化刻板印象、权力监视质询和消费主义同质化压制的都市空间中,同样有充满混乱与暧昧的异托邦空间与前者互相消解,反抗了权威空间所表征的逻辑和文化权力,进而解构了性别身份的二元对立。

In Angela Carter’s The Passion of New Eve,space is a strong presence all along:the protagonist’s gender identity changes according to the environment,which implies that gender identities are the results of social construction.Considering the features of social urban spaces,namely the tendency to coexist in contradiction,this paper focuses on the multidimensional heterotopic space in New York City at the opening of the novel.By analyzing how the local and exotic spaces,public and private spaces,rational and occult spaces in New York City deconstruct and overlap with one another,this paper intends to illustrate how Carter reveals the truth concealed by the dominant discourse of gender dichotomy.While Carter’s urban spaces are dominated by normalized knowledge,monitor and interpellation,and homogenization of consumerism,there also exist chaotic and ambiguous heterotopias that serve as counter-spaces.Only in those heterotopias can the logic and power of the dominant discursive spaces be questioned and resisted,which gives possibilities to the deconstruction of gender binary.