厌恶,抑或同情——重读约翰·厄普代克的女性小说

A Misogynist or a Sympathizer:Re-reading John Updike’s Feminine Novels

美国作家约翰·厄普代克以书写'性爱'、'宗教'和'艺术'而闻名,其作品几乎无不书写女性。但他最为世人,特别是女权主义者所诟病的,也是他所创作的女性形象。厄普代克除了在其众多小说中写到女性外,还创作有大量的女性小说,特别是长篇小说,但这些作品却未受到学者更广泛的关注。本文试图研究:厄普代克究竟创作过多少部长篇的女性小说,在这些女性小说中是如何塑造女性形象的,其创作是否反映了当代女性的形象及其所有的困惑,以及这些作品在其整个创作中有何特殊意义等问题。

American writer John Updike is best known for his works on sex,religion and art, within which female characters abound. However, it is his portrayal of women that brought him most of the criticism, from feminist critics in particular. Apart from those female characters in his writing, Updike has specifically published a number of feminine/female novels,which hasn’t captured due attention from literary scholars. This paper is an attempt to examine his feminine writing from the following aspects : How many feminine/female novels has Updike published and what are they? How did Updike portray the image of women in these works? Did his writing reflect contemporary female experiences and resonate with their predicament in general? What is the impact and significance of these feminine novels to his entire writing career?