“他者”抑或“其他”?——论埃瓦里斯托《女孩,女人,其他》中的身份隐喻

The “Other” Identity in Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other

有评论家认为,20世纪英国黑人女性作家的写作主要围绕异国“他者”体验展开,因此该文类是后殖民“他者”诗学的代表。伯娜德·埃瓦里斯托的《女孩,女人,其他》作为当代英国黑人女性文学的巅峰之作,于2019年斩获布克奖。作家通过标题中的“其他”一词对“他者”的消解主义诠释发起挑战,通过当代英国黑人女性的处境与抗争阐释身份的复杂性。第一,身份具有时代性,即当下英国黑人女性所面对的是生理与心理、物质与精神、性别与种族交织杂糅的“他者”体验。第二,身份具有主体性,即以实现“其他”身份的可能性对抗固化的“他者”身份标签。《女孩,女人,其他》的“他者”隐喻不仅是作家主旨思想的体现,而且代表了当代英国黑人女性文学的转折点。

According to some critics, since the 20th century, black British feminist writers have emphasized the experience of being “the other”. Their writings fall into the category of postcolonial writing, in which “the other” is a dominant keyword. This article argues that Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other, winner of the 2019 Booker prize, challenges the reductionist interpretation of “the other” and “otherness” to explore the complexity of identity. On the one hand, through her modern black British female characters, Evaristo expostulates identity as the intersection of physical and psychological elements, material and spiritual inf luences, as well as gender and race. On the other hand,Evaristo confronts the stereotypical label of “the other” with “other” possibilities and potentials. The “other” identity as explored by Girl, Woman, Other marks a turning point in contemporary black British feminist literature.