“老纽约”社会中的新女性
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摘要
美国现代女作家伊迪丝·华顿是19世纪末20世纪初现实主义文学的代表人物之一，同时也是一个在批评界多次引起争论的作家。她的许多作品都有意识地描写妇女的境况和心理，反映她们的不幸和痛苦的挣扎。从17世纪到19世纪的美国文学中，无论男作家笔下的女性还是女性作家笔下的自己大多是贤妻良母、贞女、情人或是智慧过人的天使。她们总在扮演角色，即男人的天使、花瓶或附属品。这些长期被男作家理想化的妇女形象又被当时大部分女性认可。无论是男作家笔下的还是女作家笔下的传统女性模式，一直继续到19世纪末。到了20世纪初，一大批具有觉醒意识的女作家开始崛起，她们从女人的视角写女人，特别是写反传统的女人成就卓著。伊迪丝·华顿是美国文学史中表现女性意识及觉醒意识的先驱，她的作品影响并推动了女权主义运动。
伊迪丝·华顿不同于同时代的其他女作家，她出生于美国纽约的上流社会。十八、九世纪美国纽约上流社会是个结合紧密的小圈子，由四百户左右的大家族构成，当时人们称其为“四百大户”。在伊迪丝·华顿的笔下它被冠名为“老纽约”社会。对伊迪丝·华顿来说，“老纽约”社会不仅是她父母及本人生长的环境，更是她一生无法摆脱、充满复杂情感的寄托。她以美国纽约上流社会为题材，写了一系列成功的风俗小说，如《欢乐之家》、《国家风俗》、《天真时代》等。就以对上流社会的描写而论，与伊迪丝·华顿同时代的作家就有亨利·詹姆斯、F·斯各特·菲茨杰拉德等。然而伊迪丝·华顿对上流社会习俗礼仪观察之敏锐、理解之深刻、描写之细腻，尤其在塑造上流社会的女性形象方面，却是他人难以企及的。本文通过分析她的三部风俗小说中的新女性形象，真实再现了当时“老纽约”社会中妇女的处境，也体现了伊迪丝·华顿对妇女问题的不断探索。
本文从以下几个方面展开：
由于这三部小说的女主人公形象都或多或少地与伊迪丝·华顿有联系或是她的影子，我们得首先了解她的生活经历及其对写作的影响。从一定意义上说，华顿本人恰是一位走出“老纽约”社会的新女性。伊迪丝·华顿就诞生在这个沉闷的“老纽约”中，起初，和
第一， 其他上流社会的名媛一样，年轻的伊迪丝也没有逃脱“老纽约”社会为每一位女性拟定的命运道路。当她刚刚表现出对文学浓厚的兴趣时，她的母亲不仅对她的习作严加批评，而且用忙碌的社交活动阻止女儿对文学的追求，甚至通过婚姻的束缚成功地中断了伊迪丝的文学写作尝试。伊迪丝经过近半生的苦苦挣扎才成功地摆脱束缚成为一名作家。她的这些生活经历使她加深对当时“老纽约”社会中妇女地位和状况的了解，并在其作品中揭露了当时纽约上流社会对女性的压制和摧残，同时塑造出像她自己一样的“新女性”。
第二， 通过对不同时期的评论家对伊迪丝·华顿作品评论的回顾，充分显示伊迪丝·华顿在美国文学史中不可或缺的地位，特别是她的作品对女性主义研究的重要性。30和40年代，主要评论家认为华顿的小说过于悲观、未提供积极的解决问题的方法。70年代起评论家日渐对华顿和她的作品发生浓厚兴趣，主要从传记、生平心理分析的角度出发，研究作家与作品的联系。80年代女权主义评论家侧重分析华顿小说中女性人物的命运。90年代起，对华顿作品的研究角度可谓多极化：与其他作家的比较、与文学传统的关系、小说中的性别、种族、宗教、语言等问题。
第三， 了解新女性形象出现的时代背景，有助于我们更好地理解伊迪丝·华顿笔下的新女性形象。19世纪后期，新女性以强健的姿态出现在社会和文学作品中。她们不仅体现了新的价值观并且向现有秩序提出了挑战。她们也影响了美国文学。从90年代起，独立、坦率、蔑视传统的新女性形象在凯特·肖邦、艾丽丝·詹姆斯、伊迪丝·华顿、薇拉·凯瑟等人的作品里得到了充满活力的表现。
第四， 从她的三部小说《欢乐之家》、《国家风俗》和《天真时代》中女主人公的不同命运上，看伊迪丝·华顿探索妇女问题的心路历程。
《欢乐之家》中的女主人公莉莉由于生活在仅注重培养女性依赖性的上流社会里，和“老纽约”社会里的其他女性一样无法独立生活，只能依靠男性。她唯一能做的就是用自己的年轻美貌和魅力赢得一位有钱的丈夫。然而华顿笔下的莉莉是一位觉醒的新女性，她不甘心受命运的摆布，拒绝把自己作为一件婚姻商品出售。虽然莉莉最终成为“老纽约”的受害者，但是她的死是对当时上流社会对女性残酷迫害的控诉。莉莉勇于打破婚姻枷锁的选择表明了20世纪初妇女自我意识的萌芽。
《国家风俗》中的女主人公安丁凭借执着的信念和锲而不舍的精神，一步一步去争取实现自己的梦想，先是冲开了“老纽约”社会坚固的大门，跻身贵妇行列，接着又跨越大西洋闯入欧洲贵族的社交圈。尽管安丁和莉莉一样，同样生活在一个以男性为中心的社会，仍旧把婚姻和丈夫作为唯一的经济来源，但安丁又不同于莉莉，安丁心中目标明确，行动果断，切中要害，是纽约上流社会叛逆的新女性。她的最终成功表明了妇女即使处在不利的地位，也能在有限的范围内争取实现自己的目标。
《天真年代》不仅是作家写作思想最成功的体现，而且其中的主?
An American modern woman writer, Edith Wharton(1862-1937) occupies an important position in realism of the late 19th and early 20th century. She has touched off many critical arguments since her many works she consciously describes women's situation and psychology, and reflects their misfortunes and painful struggles. From the 17th century to the 19th century, women in either male or female American writer's works were mainly molded as either a good wife and a loving mother, a faithful spouse, a mistress, or a witty "angel". They often live or act as men's "pure angels", "frail vessels" or subordinates. These traditional images were accepted by most women at that time. In the early 20th century, however, many women writers with awakened consciousness began to spring up. They depicted women from women's viewpoint, and made great achievement in creating the anti-traditional women. Expressing women's consciousness and awakened consciousness, Edith Wharton is a forerunner in this field. Her works have influenced and pushed forward the feminist activity.
Different from most her contemporary women writers, Edith Wharton was born in the higher society of New York. It was, in the 19th and 20th century, a closely small circle composed of about "four hundred" prominent families and is characterized by the conservatism attitude toward love, marriage, and family. Edith Wharton called the small circle "Old New York" in which she and her parents had been living and she couldn't break away in all her life. She had the complicated feeling toward the "Old New York". Using the upper class of New York as materials, she wrote a series of successful novels of manners, such as The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country, The Age of Innocence, and so on. Wharton's contemporary writers, like Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, are also good at describing the higher society. But nobody can surpass her in the sharp observation and keen understanding toward the observances and custom of the higher society, especially on molding the images of women in the upper class. Through the analysis of the "new women" (Lily, Undine, Ellen) in Wharton's three novels, The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country, The Age of Innocence, the thesis tries to expose and examine the women's situations in "Old New York" at that time and Wharton's constant exploration about women questions. The thesis will develop in the following aspects:
Since the three heroines in the novels are in one or another way related with Edith Wharton or they are reflections of Edith Wharton, Part One tells about Edith Wharton's life and its influence upon her writing. In a sense, Edith Wharton herself is a new woman out of "Old New York". At the beginning, like other ladies in this upper class, she had to obey the old-fashioned mores of "Old New York". When young Edith just showed a literary talent and interest, her literary efforts came to a temporary halt, for she was pushed to a marriage by her mother. Through a long-time struggle, she finally shook off the bondage and became a successful writer. Her experience provided her with a deep understanding about woman's status and situation in "Old New York". In her works, Wharton reveals that "Old New York" represses and destroys women's intellectual and emotion. At the same time, she creates some new women like herself.
Part Two is a summary of reviews about Edith Wharton and her important position in American literature. Edith Wharton's works are especially helpful to the research on feminism of her time. In
1930s and 1940s, most of critics charged her novels with pessimism. Some even thought her a follower of Henry James. From 1970s, the critics took a new interest in Wharton and her works. They mainly researched on the relationship between Wharton and her works according to her autobiography and the analysis of her psychology. In 1980s, the feminist put the emphasis on the analysis of women's fates in her works. From 1990s, studies on Wharton's works grew more colorful. Some critics did some comparing resear
伊迪丝·华顿不同于同时代的其他女作家，她出生于美国纽约的上流社会。十八、九世纪美国纽约上流社会是个结合紧密的小圈子，由四百户左右的大家族构成，当时人们称其为“四百大户”。在伊迪丝·华顿的笔下它被冠名为“老纽约”社会。对伊迪丝·华顿来说，“老纽约”社会不仅是她父母及本人生长的环境，更是她一生无法摆脱、充满复杂情感的寄托。她以美国纽约上流社会为题材，写了一系列成功的风俗小说，如《欢乐之家》、《国家风俗》、《天真时代》等。就以对上流社会的描写而论，与伊迪丝·华顿同时代的作家就有亨利·詹姆斯、F·斯各特·菲茨杰拉德等。然而伊迪丝·华顿对上流社会习俗礼仪观察之敏锐、理解之深刻、描写之细腻，尤其在塑造上流社会的女性形象方面，却是他人难以企及的。本文通过分析她的三部风俗小说中的新女性形象，真实再现了当时“老纽约”社会中妇女的处境，也体现了伊迪丝·华顿对妇女问题的不断探索。
本文从以下几个方面展开：
由于这三部小说的女主人公形象都或多或少地与伊迪丝·华顿有联系或是她的影子，我们得首先了解她的生活经历及其对写作的影响。从一定意义上说，华顿本人恰是一位走出“老纽约”社会的新女性。伊迪丝·华顿就诞生在这个沉闷的“老纽约”中，起初，和
第一， 其他上流社会的名媛一样，年轻的伊迪丝也没有逃脱“老纽约”社会为每一位女性拟定的命运道路。当她刚刚表现出对文学浓厚的兴趣时，她的母亲不仅对她的习作严加批评，而且用忙碌的社交活动阻止女儿对文学的追求，甚至通过婚姻的束缚成功地中断了伊迪丝的文学写作尝试。伊迪丝经过近半生的苦苦挣扎才成功地摆脱束缚成为一名作家。她的这些生活经历使她加深对当时“老纽约”社会中妇女地位和状况的了解，并在其作品中揭露了当时纽约上流社会对女性的压制和摧残，同时塑造出像她自己一样的“新女性”。
第二， 通过对不同时期的评论家对伊迪丝·华顿作品评论的回顾，充分显示伊迪丝·华顿在美国文学史中不可或缺的地位，特别是她的作品对女性主义研究的重要性。30和40年代，主要评论家认为华顿的小说过于悲观、未提供积极的解决问题的方法。70年代起评论家日渐对华顿和她的作品发生浓厚兴趣，主要从传记、生平心理分析的角度出发，研究作家与作品的联系。80年代女权主义评论家侧重分析华顿小说中女性人物的命运。90年代起，对华顿作品的研究角度可谓多极化：与其他作家的比较、与文学传统的关系、小说中的性别、种族、宗教、语言等问题。
第三， 了解新女性形象出现的时代背景，有助于我们更好地理解伊迪丝·华顿笔下的新女性形象。19世纪后期，新女性以强健的姿态出现在社会和文学作品中。她们不仅体现了新的价值观并且向现有秩序提出了挑战。她们也影响了美国文学。从90年代起，独立、坦率、蔑视传统的新女性形象在凯特·肖邦、艾丽丝·詹姆斯、伊迪丝·华顿、薇拉·凯瑟等人的作品里得到了充满活力的表现。
第四， 从她的三部小说《欢乐之家》、《国家风俗》和《天真时代》中女主人公的不同命运上，看伊迪丝·华顿探索妇女问题的心路历程。
《欢乐之家》中的女主人公莉莉由于生活在仅注重培养女性依赖性的上流社会里，和“老纽约”社会里的其他女性一样无法独立生活，只能依靠男性。她唯一能做的就是用自己的年轻美貌和魅力赢得一位有钱的丈夫。然而华顿笔下的莉莉是一位觉醒的新女性，她不甘心受命运的摆布，拒绝把自己作为一件婚姻商品出售。虽然莉莉最终成为“老纽约”的受害者，但是她的死是对当时上流社会对女性残酷迫害的控诉。莉莉勇于打破婚姻枷锁的选择表明了20世纪初妇女自我意识的萌芽。
《国家风俗》中的女主人公安丁凭借执着的信念和锲而不舍的精神，一步一步去争取实现自己的梦想，先是冲开了“老纽约”社会坚固的大门，跻身贵妇行列，接着又跨越大西洋闯入欧洲贵族的社交圈。尽管安丁和莉莉一样，同样生活在一个以男性为中心的社会，仍旧把婚姻和丈夫作为唯一的经济来源，但安丁又不同于莉莉，安丁心中目标明确，行动果断，切中要害，是纽约上流社会叛逆的新女性。她的最终成功表明了妇女即使处在不利的地位，也能在有限的范围内争取实现自己的目标。
《天真年代》不仅是作家写作思想最成功的体现，而且其中的主?
An American modern woman writer, Edith Wharton(1862-1937) occupies an important position in realism of the late 19th and early 20th century. She has touched off many critical arguments since her many works she consciously describes women's situation and psychology, and reflects their misfortunes and painful struggles. From the 17th century to the 19th century, women in either male or female American writer's works were mainly molded as either a good wife and a loving mother, a faithful spouse, a mistress, or a witty "angel". They often live or act as men's "pure angels", "frail vessels" or subordinates. These traditional images were accepted by most women at that time. In the early 20th century, however, many women writers with awakened consciousness began to spring up. They depicted women from women's viewpoint, and made great achievement in creating the anti-traditional women. Expressing women's consciousness and awakened consciousness, Edith Wharton is a forerunner in this field. Her works have influenced and pushed forward the feminist activity.
Different from most her contemporary women writers, Edith Wharton was born in the higher society of New York. It was, in the 19th and 20th century, a closely small circle composed of about "four hundred" prominent families and is characterized by the conservatism attitude toward love, marriage, and family. Edith Wharton called the small circle "Old New York" in which she and her parents had been living and she couldn't break away in all her life. She had the complicated feeling toward the "Old New York". Using the upper class of New York as materials, she wrote a series of successful novels of manners, such as The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country, The Age of Innocence, and so on. Wharton's contemporary writers, like Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, are also good at describing the higher society. But nobody can surpass her in the sharp observation and keen understanding toward the observances and custom of the higher society, especially on molding the images of women in the upper class. Through the analysis of the "new women" (Lily, Undine, Ellen) in Wharton's three novels, The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country, The Age of Innocence, the thesis tries to expose and examine the women's situations in "Old New York" at that time and Wharton's constant exploration about women questions. The thesis will develop in the following aspects:
Since the three heroines in the novels are in one or another way related with Edith Wharton or they are reflections of Edith Wharton, Part One tells about Edith Wharton's life and its influence upon her writing. In a sense, Edith Wharton herself is a new woman out of "Old New York". At the beginning, like other ladies in this upper class, she had to obey the old-fashioned mores of "Old New York". When young Edith just showed a literary talent and interest, her literary efforts came to a temporary halt, for she was pushed to a marriage by her mother. Through a long-time struggle, she finally shook off the bondage and became a successful writer. Her experience provided her with a deep understanding about woman's status and situation in "Old New York". In her works, Wharton reveals that "Old New York" represses and destroys women's intellectual and emotion. At the same time, she creates some new women like herself.
Part Two is a summary of reviews about Edith Wharton and her important position in American literature. Edith Wharton's works are especially helpful to the research on feminism of her time. In
1930s and 1940s, most of critics charged her novels with pessimism. Some even thought her a follower of Henry James. From 1970s, the critics took a new interest in Wharton and her works. They mainly researched on the relationship between Wharton and her works according to her autobiography and the analysis of her psychology. In 1980s, the feminist put the emphasis on the analysis of women's fates in her works. From 1990s, studies on Wharton's works grew more colorful. Some critics did some comparing resear
引文
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