离散批评视角下的黄哲伦戏剧《家庭奉献》
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摘要
黄哲伦的《家庭奉献》是其“华裔三部曲”的收官之作。与前两部剧作相比,学术界对于这部作品的研究相对缺乏。评论家普遍认为这部作品在质量上逊于前作。从表面来看,这部作品是以基督教为批判对象,然而从主题来看,这部作品与前两部作品的主题一脉相承,都是表现了对于中国血脉的认同。从作品的技巧来看,这部作品并没有像前两部作品一样刻意突出京剧等中国元素,而是通过生活中常见的道具来深化中国身份认同的主题,可以说是作者创作技巧的一次突破。从作品的人物来看,《家庭奉献》不仅在人物数量上达到新高,而且人物分为三代,不仅三代人之间在观念上存在明显差异,且每一代之间的细微差别也得到了清晰刻画。可以说,《家庭奉献》为“华裔三部曲”画上了一个圆满的句号。
尽管离散一词历史渊源颇深,然而离散理论直到二十世纪九十年代才得以逐步确立。经过斯图亚特·霍尔和加布利尔·谢弗等人的努力,离散理论的定义、离散族群在身份问题上的主要策略等理论框架已逐步完善,为离散理论在文学上的应用打下了坚实的基础。通过应用这些理论,我们可以把握文学作品中人物的性质,并通过不同人物对于身份问题的不同态度对人物的思想和价值观进行探究。
本文以离散理论作为研究视角,以《家庭奉献》作为研究对象。通过对于作品中象征意象的分析可以看出,基督教并不是作者的批判对象,而是对于美国文化的一种象征。此外,本文结合离散理论中离散族群对于身份问题的不同策略,对作品中三代华裔移民不同的身份认同观进行分析,勾勒出了美国华裔群体三个历史时期对于身份观的思想变化,并对其未来的发展趋势进行了预测。
Family Devotions is the last work of David Henry Hwang’s Trilogy of Chinese America. However, Critics’works on the study of this play are less than those on the previous two works, and it is widely agreed that this work is not as of good quality as the other two plays of this trilogy. Family Devotions appears to regard Christianity as its target. However, this work inherits the same theme from other works in the trilogy, representing the identification of Chinese ancestors. Secondly, as for the technique of the play, Family Devotions does not feature such Chinese elements as the Chinese Opera. Instead, it just uses common stage properties to emphasize the theme of Chinese identity, and this is also a technical breakthrough of Hwang’s writing. Thirdly, as far as characters are concerned, not only does the number of characters reach the climax, but also these characters are classified into three generations. On the one hand, there are clear differences among three generations on their ideas. On the other hand, the subtle differences among members of the same generation are also elaborated delicately. In a word, Family Devotions provides a perfect ending with this trilogy.
Though the term“Diaspora”has a long history, diaspora theory was not fully established until 1990s. With the effort of such scholars as Stuart Hall and Gabriel Sheffer, the framework of diasporism, including the definition of diaspora and the main strategy of diasporas on the issue of identity, has been enriched, paving the way for the application of this theory on literary study. By applying diasporism on literary works, we can grasp the characteristics of the characters, and make an exploration on their ideas and values according to their different attitudes toward the issue of identity.
From the perspective of diaspora criticism, Family Devotions is set as the object in this essay. From the analysis of the symbolism in it, we can see that Christianity is not the real target, but it is a symbol for American culture. In addition, with the help of different strategies and tactics that diasporas adopt on the issue of identity, this essay provides a map on the changing values of identification in three eras, and offers a prediction on the future of this issue, which will pave the way for both the development of diaspora theory itself and the application of this theory on literary study.
尽管离散一词历史渊源颇深,然而离散理论直到二十世纪九十年代才得以逐步确立。经过斯图亚特·霍尔和加布利尔·谢弗等人的努力,离散理论的定义、离散族群在身份问题上的主要策略等理论框架已逐步完善,为离散理论在文学上的应用打下了坚实的基础。通过应用这些理论,我们可以把握文学作品中人物的性质,并通过不同人物对于身份问题的不同态度对人物的思想和价值观进行探究。
本文以离散理论作为研究视角,以《家庭奉献》作为研究对象。通过对于作品中象征意象的分析可以看出,基督教并不是作者的批判对象,而是对于美国文化的一种象征。此外,本文结合离散理论中离散族群对于身份问题的不同策略,对作品中三代华裔移民不同的身份认同观进行分析,勾勒出了美国华裔群体三个历史时期对于身份观的思想变化,并对其未来的发展趋势进行了预测。
Family Devotions is the last work of David Henry Hwang’s Trilogy of Chinese America. However, Critics’works on the study of this play are less than those on the previous two works, and it is widely agreed that this work is not as of good quality as the other two plays of this trilogy. Family Devotions appears to regard Christianity as its target. However, this work inherits the same theme from other works in the trilogy, representing the identification of Chinese ancestors. Secondly, as for the technique of the play, Family Devotions does not feature such Chinese elements as the Chinese Opera. Instead, it just uses common stage properties to emphasize the theme of Chinese identity, and this is also a technical breakthrough of Hwang’s writing. Thirdly, as far as characters are concerned, not only does the number of characters reach the climax, but also these characters are classified into three generations. On the one hand, there are clear differences among three generations on their ideas. On the other hand, the subtle differences among members of the same generation are also elaborated delicately. In a word, Family Devotions provides a perfect ending with this trilogy.
Though the term“Diaspora”has a long history, diaspora theory was not fully established until 1990s. With the effort of such scholars as Stuart Hall and Gabriel Sheffer, the framework of diasporism, including the definition of diaspora and the main strategy of diasporas on the issue of identity, has been enriched, paving the way for the application of this theory on literary study. By applying diasporism on literary works, we can grasp the characteristics of the characters, and make an exploration on their ideas and values according to their different attitudes toward the issue of identity.
From the perspective of diaspora criticism, Family Devotions is set as the object in this essay. From the analysis of the symbolism in it, we can see that Christianity is not the real target, but it is a symbol for American culture. In addition, with the help of different strategies and tactics that diasporas adopt on the issue of identity, this essay provides a map on the changing values of identification in three eras, and offers a prediction on the future of this issue, which will pave the way for both the development of diaspora theory itself and the application of this theory on literary study.
引文
1. Reference of this section comes from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Henry_Hwang.
2. David Savran.“David Henry Hwang,”In Their Own Words: Contemporary American Playwrights. ed. David Savran. New York: Theatre Communication Group, 1988: 117.
3. Ibid, 122.
4.徐颖果编著,《美国华裔文学选读》,天津:南开大学出版社,2004:311.
5. Frank Rich.“‘M. Butterfly,’a Story of a Strange Love, Conflict and Betrayal,”The New York Times, March 21, 1998, C13.
6. Edith Oliver.“Poor Butterfly,”The New Yorker, Vol. LXIV, No.7, April 4, 1988: 72.
7. Frank Rich.“STAGE:‘DANCE, RAILROAD,’BY DAVID HENRY HWANG,”The New York Times, March 31, 1981.
8. Reference of this summary comes from http://www.enotes.com/family-devotions-salem/family-devotions.内容选自David R. Peck, Tracy Irons-georges. Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2001.
9. Frank Rich.“Theater: Hwang’s‘Family Devotions’.”The New York Times. October 19, 1981.
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora.
11. Gabriel Sheffer. Diaspora Politics: at Home Abroad. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003: 9.
12. Ina Baghdiantz McCabe, Gelina Harlaftis, and Iōanna PepelasēMinoglou. Diaspora Entrepreneurial Networks: Four Centuries of History. Geneva, Switzerland: Librairie Droz, 2005: 383. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora.
13. Ibid, 383.
14. Ibid, 384.
15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_American.
16.“Selected Population Profile in the United States”. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_&-reg=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201:035;ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201PR:035;ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201T:035;ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:035&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format=.. Retrieved2008-09-29.
17.王宁,《“后理论时代”西方理论思潮的走向》,《外国文学》,2005年第3期.
18 Chris Rojek. Stuart Hall. Cambridge: Polity. 2003: ix.
19. http://www.amazon.com/Stuart-Hall-Routledge-Critical-Thinkers/dp/0415262674.
20. Paula M. L. Mora and Michael R. Hames-Garcia, eds. Reclaiming Identity: Realist Theory and the Predicament of Postmodernism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000: 1.
21. Rebecca Sultana.“Many Souls, Many Voices’: Meena Alexander’s Reconstruction of Multiple Identities”. The Atlantic Literary Review. July– September, 2001. Vol. 2, No. 3: 101.
22. Reference of this section comes from Gabriel Sheffer. Diaspora Politics: at Home Abroad. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
23. http://www.amazon.com/Diaspora-Politics-At-Home-Abroad/dp/0521009871.
24. Gabriel Sheffer. Diaspora Politics: at Home Abroad. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003: 77.
25. Ibid, 82.
26. http://www.amazon.com/Diaspora-Politics-At-Home-Abroad/dp/0521009871.
27. Ibid.
28. http://www.enotes.com/family-devotions-salem/family-devotions. The original source of this passage is from David R. Peck, Tracy Irons-georges. Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2001.
[1] A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama[C]. Ed. David Krasner. Blackwell Publishing, 2005.
[2] The Cultural Studies Reader[C]. Ed. Simon Durrel. London and New York: Routledge, 1991.
[3] The Empire Writes Back[C]. Ed. Bill Ashcroft, et al. London and New York: Routledge, 1989.
[4] The Post-Colonial Studies Reader[C]. Ed. Bill Ashcroft, et al. London and New York: Routledge, 1995.
[5] Culture, Media, Language[C]. Ed. Stuart Hall, et al. London: Hutchinson, 1980.
[6] Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture[M]. London and New York: Routledge, 1994.
[7] Bigsby, C. W. E. Modern American Drama, 1945– 2000[M]. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
[8] Boehmer, Elleke. Colonial and Postcolonial Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
[9] Brandlinger, Patrick. Crusoe’s Footprints: Cultural Studies in Britain and America[M]. London and New York: Routledge, 1995.
[10] Dworkin, Dennis. Cultural Marxism in Postwar Britain: History, New left and Cultural Studies[M]. Durham: Duke University Press, 1997.
[11] Eagleton, Terry. The Idea of Culture[M]. London: Blackwell, 2000.
[12] Easthope, Antony. Literary into Cultural Studies[M]. London and New York: Routledge, 1991.
[13] Gandi, Leela. Postcolonial Theory: a Critical Introduction[M]. New York: Columbia University Press. 1998.
[14] Hall, Stuart and Tony Jefferson. Resistance through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain[M]. London: Hutchinson, 1976.
[15] Hoggart, Richard. The Uses of Literary[M]. London: Chatto and Windus, 1957.
[16] Hwang, David Henry. Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays of David Henry Hwang[C]. New York: Theatre Communications Group, Inc., 2000.
[17] Said, Edward W. Orientalism[M]. London: Penguin, 1977.
[18] Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism[M]. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.
[19] Sheffer, Gabriel. Diaspora Politics: at Home Abroad[M]. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
[20] Turner, Graeme. British Cultural Studies: an Introduction[M]. Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1990.
[21] Williams, Raymond. Cultural and Society 1780– 1950[M]. London: Chatto and Windus, 1958.
[22] Williams, Raymond. Television: Technology and Cultural Form[M]. London: Collins, 1974.
[23] Williams, Raymond. The Long Revolution[M]. London: Chatto and Windus, 1961.
[24] Williams, Raymond. Problems in Materialism and Culture: Selected Essays[M]. London: Verso, 1980.
[25] Young, Robert J. C. Colonial Desire: Hybridity in Theory, Culture and Race[M]. London and New York: Routledge, 1995.
[26]王光林,《错位与超越——美、澳华裔作家的文化认同》(英文版)[M],天津:南开大学出版社,2004。
[27]吴冰,王立礼主编,《美国华裔作家研究》[C],天津:南开大学出版社,2009。
[28]徐颖果编著,《美国华裔文学选读》(第二版)[C],天津:南开大学出版社,2008。
[29]【美】尹晓煌著,徐颖果主译,《美国华裔文学史》(中文版)[M],天津:南开大学出版社,2006。
[30]张中载,王逢振,赵国新编,《二十世纪西方文论选读》[C],北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2002。
[31]赵一凡,张中载,李德恩主编,《西方文论关键词》[C],北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2006.
2. David Savran.“David Henry Hwang,”In Their Own Words: Contemporary American Playwrights. ed. David Savran. New York: Theatre Communication Group, 1988: 117.
3. Ibid, 122.
4.徐颖果编著,《美国华裔文学选读》,天津:南开大学出版社,2004:311.
5. Frank Rich.“‘M. Butterfly,’a Story of a Strange Love, Conflict and Betrayal,”The New York Times, March 21, 1998, C13.
6. Edith Oliver.“Poor Butterfly,”The New Yorker, Vol. LXIV, No.7, April 4, 1988: 72.
7. Frank Rich.“STAGE:‘DANCE, RAILROAD,’BY DAVID HENRY HWANG,”The New York Times, March 31, 1981.
8. Reference of this summary comes from http://www.enotes.com/family-devotions-salem/family-devotions.内容选自David R. Peck, Tracy Irons-georges. Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2001.
9. Frank Rich.“Theater: Hwang’s‘Family Devotions’.”The New York Times. October 19, 1981.
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora.
11. Gabriel Sheffer. Diaspora Politics: at Home Abroad. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003: 9.
12. Ina Baghdiantz McCabe, Gelina Harlaftis, and Iōanna PepelasēMinoglou. Diaspora Entrepreneurial Networks: Four Centuries of History. Geneva, Switzerland: Librairie Droz, 2005: 383. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora.
13. Ibid, 383.
14. Ibid, 384.
15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_American.
16.“Selected Population Profile in the United States”. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_&-reg=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201:035;ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201PR:035;ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201T:035;ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:035&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format=.. Retrieved2008-09-29.
17.王宁,《“后理论时代”西方理论思潮的走向》,《外国文学》,2005年第3期.
18 Chris Rojek. Stuart Hall. Cambridge: Polity. 2003: ix.
19. http://www.amazon.com/Stuart-Hall-Routledge-Critical-Thinkers/dp/0415262674.
20. Paula M. L. Mora and Michael R. Hames-Garcia, eds. Reclaiming Identity: Realist Theory and the Predicament of Postmodernism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000: 1.
21. Rebecca Sultana.“Many Souls, Many Voices’: Meena Alexander’s Reconstruction of Multiple Identities”. The Atlantic Literary Review. July– September, 2001. Vol. 2, No. 3: 101.
22. Reference of this section comes from Gabriel Sheffer. Diaspora Politics: at Home Abroad. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
23. http://www.amazon.com/Diaspora-Politics-At-Home-Abroad/dp/0521009871.
24. Gabriel Sheffer. Diaspora Politics: at Home Abroad. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003: 77.
25. Ibid, 82.
26. http://www.amazon.com/Diaspora-Politics-At-Home-Abroad/dp/0521009871.
27. Ibid.
28. http://www.enotes.com/family-devotions-salem/family-devotions. The original source of this passage is from David R. Peck, Tracy Irons-georges. Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2001.
[1] A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama[C]. Ed. David Krasner. Blackwell Publishing, 2005.
[2] The Cultural Studies Reader[C]. Ed. Simon Durrel. London and New York: Routledge, 1991.
[3] The Empire Writes Back[C]. Ed. Bill Ashcroft, et al. London and New York: Routledge, 1989.
[4] The Post-Colonial Studies Reader[C]. Ed. Bill Ashcroft, et al. London and New York: Routledge, 1995.
[5] Culture, Media, Language[C]. Ed. Stuart Hall, et al. London: Hutchinson, 1980.
[6] Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture[M]. London and New York: Routledge, 1994.
[7] Bigsby, C. W. E. Modern American Drama, 1945– 2000[M]. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
[8] Boehmer, Elleke. Colonial and Postcolonial Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
[9] Brandlinger, Patrick. Crusoe’s Footprints: Cultural Studies in Britain and America[M]. London and New York: Routledge, 1995.
[10] Dworkin, Dennis. Cultural Marxism in Postwar Britain: History, New left and Cultural Studies[M]. Durham: Duke University Press, 1997.
[11] Eagleton, Terry. The Idea of Culture[M]. London: Blackwell, 2000.
[12] Easthope, Antony. Literary into Cultural Studies[M]. London and New York: Routledge, 1991.
[13] Gandi, Leela. Postcolonial Theory: a Critical Introduction[M]. New York: Columbia University Press. 1998.
[14] Hall, Stuart and Tony Jefferson. Resistance through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain[M]. London: Hutchinson, 1976.
[15] Hoggart, Richard. The Uses of Literary[M]. London: Chatto and Windus, 1957.
[16] Hwang, David Henry. Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays of David Henry Hwang[C]. New York: Theatre Communications Group, Inc., 2000.
[17] Said, Edward W. Orientalism[M]. London: Penguin, 1977.
[18] Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism[M]. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.
[19] Sheffer, Gabriel. Diaspora Politics: at Home Abroad[M]. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
[20] Turner, Graeme. British Cultural Studies: an Introduction[M]. Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1990.
[21] Williams, Raymond. Cultural and Society 1780– 1950[M]. London: Chatto and Windus, 1958.
[22] Williams, Raymond. Television: Technology and Cultural Form[M]. London: Collins, 1974.
[23] Williams, Raymond. The Long Revolution[M]. London: Chatto and Windus, 1961.
[24] Williams, Raymond. Problems in Materialism and Culture: Selected Essays[M]. London: Verso, 1980.
[25] Young, Robert J. C. Colonial Desire: Hybridity in Theory, Culture and Race[M]. London and New York: Routledge, 1995.
[26]王光林,《错位与超越——美、澳华裔作家的文化认同》(英文版)[M],天津:南开大学出版社,2004。
[27]吴冰,王立礼主编,《美国华裔作家研究》[C],天津:南开大学出版社,2009。
[28]徐颖果编著,《美国华裔文学选读》(第二版)[C],天津:南开大学出版社,2008。
[29]【美】尹晓煌著,徐颖果主译,《美国华裔文学史》(中文版)[M],天津:南开大学出版社,2006。
[30]张中载,王逢振,赵国新编,《二十世纪西方文论选读》[C],北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2002。
[31]赵一凡,张中载,李德恩主编,《西方文论关键词》[C],北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2006.