关怀伦理视域下的老年关怀问题:析多丽丝·莱辛短篇小说《老妇与猫》

A Study of Elderly Care in Doris Lessing’s Short Story “An Old Woman and Her Cat” from the Perspective of Care Ethics

在当代英国作家多丽丝·莱辛的短篇故事《老妇与猫》中,独居老妇赫蒂为了一只名叫蒂贝的猫,数次做出看似不合常理的选择,甚至放弃了求生的机会。依据吉利根的关怀伦理思想及特朗托对关怀伦理四要素的阐释,可以看出,赫蒂的选择跟她的生活境遇和关怀感受有很大关系。首先,在公正伦理占主导地位、老年歧视普遍存在的社会里,几乎无人关注赫蒂,但流浪猫蒂贝的出现让她感到了一丝温暖;其次,赫蒂对养老院的关怀能力明显不信任,所以宁愿在养老院与猫之间选择后者;最后,多年的养猫经历让赫蒂感受到了作为关怀给予者的快乐和责任,而猫的种种行为又让她觉得自己的关怀行为得到了积极的回应,这种双向的、肯定性的关怀关系对她来说如此珍贵,以至于她宁愿冻死饿死,也不愿意离开自己的猫。赫蒂的选择令人唏嘘,反映出老年群体对关怀的渴求,引发我们对老年生存状况的思考。Hetty, in Doris Lessing’s short story “An Old Woman and Her Cat,” is a lonely old lady who makes seemingly irrational decisions and even gives up her chance of survival on account of a cat named Tibby. In light of what Carol Gilligan has illustrated about care ethics and Joan C. Tronto’s four ethical elements of care, it can be argued that her choices result from her living condition and her perception of care. Firstly, in a society that favors justice ethics as the dominant mode and treats the elderly in a discriminatory manner, few people are attentive to Hetty, but the stray cat Tibby warms up her life. Secondly, Hetty does not trust the Home for its problematic caregiving competence, and that explains why she chooses the cat when she has to make a choice. Finally, as a cat owner, Hetty has enjoyed an affirmative two-way caring relationship with Tibby, experiencing happiness and responsibility as a caregiver and being rewarded with active responsiveness from the cat, and this relationship is so valuable to her that she would rather die of coldness and starvation than abandon her cat. Sad as the story is, Hetty’s choices reveal the craving for care on the part of the elderly and prompt further thinking about the living conditions of the aged.