朱厄特《乡村医生》中父母教养方式与孩子的成长

On different parenting styles in Jewett’s A Country Doctor and their influences on children’s development

长期以来,萨拉·朱厄特的《乡村医生》被普遍认为是作家为了实现儿时的学医梦想和感激父亲的教养之恩而创作的一部带有自传性质的小说。其实,作家创作《乡村医生》还有另外一个目的,那就是通过小说来描写和对照“放任型”“专制型”“权威型”等不同类型的父母教养方式,巧妙地“参与”到她所处时代的关于父母教养方式与孩子成长关系等社会话题的讨论中。在作家看来,“放任型”教养方式下的孩子,其个性发展由于得不到父母必要的引导和约束而会出现成长失控,甚至产生悲剧;而“专制型”教养方式下的孩子,则因为父母过分地约束和压制其个性发展而成长受挫,难以在社会上有所作为。正是意识到“放任型”“专制型”教养方式都存在缺陷,会给孩子的发展带来伤害,朱厄特还在《乡村医生》中积极探索更有利于孩子成长的教养方式。她将自己接受父母“权威型”教养方式的成长经历融入小说创作中,并自信地对其加以推荐。相较于另外两种教养方式,“权威型”教养方式下的孩子不仅能感受到来自父母的关注和重视,也能享受到父母给予的民主和自由,个性得以健全发展,从而更加快乐自然地成长,实现人生价值。这也是作家在教养方式方面的远见卓识。

For a long time,A Country Doctor has generally been considered as an autobiographical novel by Sarah Jewett,who writes it mainly for the purposes of“realizing”her medical dream since childhood and expressing her appreciation of her father’s parenting.As a matter of fact,Jewett writes the novel for the third purpose of artfully“taking part in”the discussion of such social topics on the relationship between parenting styles and children’s development in her time by depicting and comparing different types of parenting like permissive,authoritarian and authoritative parenting styles in A Country Doctor.According to Jewett,children under the permissive parenting style,due to the lack of parents’necessary guidance and restriction on their personality development,are likely to develop without control,even turning into tragedies,while children under the authoritarian parenting style,due to parents’excessive restriction and suppression on their personality development,tend to develop with frustration,achieving little in the society.With the understanding that both permissive and authoritarian parenting styles with their own shortcomings are harmful for children’s development,Jewett takes the initiative to explore a better parenting style for children’s development in the novel.She integrates into the novel her successful development under authoritative parenting style,of which she makes a confident recommendation.In contrast with the children under permissive and authoritarian parenting styles,children under the authoritative parenting style not only sense the care and attention of the parents,but also enjoy the democracy and freedom from the parents,thus developing more happily and naturally with sound personality,and achieving their personal values as well.All of this reflects Jewett’s insight into parenting styles.