从“超越”到“遍在”
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摘要
薇拉·凯瑟(1873-1947)是二十世纪美国最伟大的作家之一。她主要以其内布拉斯加荒原小说,尤其是《啊,拓荒者!》和《我的安东尼娅》而出名。这两部作品已被人们从不同角度解读过。由于作者对人与自然关系,尤其是对女性与自然的亲和并认同的关系不惜笔墨的描写,从生态批评和女性主义角度分析两部作品日益引起评论界的关注,而从生态女性主义来解读的却很稀少。本文试图从生态女性主义这一新的角度来解读《啊,拓荒者!》和《我的安东尼娅》,以填补这方面研究的不足。
     发轫于20世纪70年代,伴随着第二次妇女运动浪潮和绿色环境运动的兴起,融合了女性主义思想和绿色生态思想之长生态女性主义开始有了迅速的发展,这一哲学思想及文学批评理论为我们重新解读文学作品打开了一扇崭新的视窗。生态女性主义认为控制自然和控制女性是相互联系的,女性解放和自然解放也是互为支持的同一过程。它从自然和女性的视角出发,探究了对自然和女性双重控制和贬抑源于“超越”性质的父权二元对立(人/自然、男性/女性、精神/肉体等)。但生态女性主义各个支流都体现了彻底的非二元论的哲学精神,摒弃“超越”(凌驾于自然与女性之上,并对其剥削、压迫),赞赏“遍在”(内在于自然,与自然相互关联、关爱),尤其是亲和/精神生态女性主义,它强调对女性与自然间(生物学或精神上)神秘的亲和关系复原,颂扬女性与自然的联系与同一,这为应对二元对立制,把自然和女性从压迫“超越”性的父权文化中解放出来提供了有利的立足点。此外,精神生态女性主义持有深层生态理论的基本观点,强调精神根本转变,以深层方式看待人与自然的关系。
     本文首先简要介绍了生态女性主义和深层生态理论,尤其是精神生态女性主义和超个人生态理论,并分析了薇拉·凯瑟本人生态女性主义意识的成长过程。然后本文分析了两部小说中父权制二元对立观念对自然与女性殊途同归的双重“超越”和支配。这一点主要通过小说中一些父权人物对女性和自然的形形色色的歧视和贬抑的行为体现出来。最后,本文主要利用精神生态女性主义和深层生态理论分析小说中的大地女神“遍在”(以关联、关爱、互惠和集体为基础),并指出大地女神“遍在”是女性与自然走出“超越”性质的父权二元对立的出路。两篇小说的女主人公,亚历山大和安东尼娅通过赞赏和认可女性与自然的亲和与精神交流,并从中获取精神力量,建立了在自然中的生态整体的“遍在”,并最终得到了各自没有超越观念的爱人的所爱与青睐。此外,本文指出男性一旦心怀深层生态原则,与自然之间有超个人的精神交流,也可达到在自然中的生态整体的“遍在”。
     从生态女性主义的角度解读《啊,拓荒者!》和《我的安东尼娅》不仅为拓展对薇拉·凯瑟及其作品的研究提供一个崭新的视域,也可以重新平衡西方“超越”性质的二元对立观念,开拓出一条分析与解决当今环境恶化和父权性别歧视问题的新途径。
O Pioneers! and My Antonia are Willa Cather’s two representative Nebraska novels. These two novels have been approached from various angles. Due to her recurrent depiction and treatment of human-nature, especially woman-nature relations in these two novels, the reevaluation of them from ecocriticism and feminism draws increasing critical attention, yet from ecofeminism, the unity of ecocriticism and feminism, to approach them is still rare. The thesis attempts to reinterpret them from this new angle so as to make up for the lack of study in this field.
     Ecofeminism, as an integration of feminist and green ecological thoughts, sees both the exploitation of nature and the subordination of women as lying in the patriarchal dualisms (man/nature, men/women, mind/body etc.) that sustains transcendence (above, outside nature and women/exploitation and oppression of them); all strands of ecofeminism are ultimately anti–dualistic, reject transcendence and embrace immanence (inside nature/interconnectedness and interdependence with nature), especially affinity/spiritual ecofeminism. Affinity/spiritual ecofeminism offers a good vantage point to confronting patriarchal hierarchical transcendence by stressing an elemental identification and alliance between women and nature. Spiritual ecofeminism shares the major perspective of deep ecology and takes a deep approach to human-nature relations by emphasizing profound spiritual change.
     The thesis is devoted to making a full exploration into Cather’s ecofeminist awareness by reinterpreting two of her Nebraska novels O Pioneers! and My Antonia. The thesis firstly presents a survey of ecofeminist and deep ecological theories, especially focuses on spiritual ecofeminism and transpersonal ecology, and introduces the formation of Willa Cather’s ecofeminist awareness. Then the thesis gives a detailed examination of patriarchal transcendence of nature and women through illustrating various destructions and prejudices against women and nature by some patriarchal male characters. At last, the thesis mainly applies spiritual ecofeminist and deep ecological theories to two novels and expands upon the immanence of Earth Goddess (based on interconnectedness, interdependence, compassion, reciprocity and community, etc.), which is the way for women and nature out of transcendent dualisms. Through embracing their affinity identification and spiritual communion with nature and further gaining power and strength from it, two heroines Alexandra and Antonia have established ecoholist immanence in nature and won love and admiration of their respective lovers without transcendental concepts. Further more, the thesis points out that men can also be immanent in nature, once they bear deep ecological principles at heart and make a transpersonal contact and spiritual communion with nature.
     Adopting an ecofeminist perspective to approach O Pioneers! and My Antonia can not only offer us a fresh angle to broaden and enhance our study of Willa Cather as well as her works, but also redress the balance of western dualisms, open up a different way of looking at patriarchal and environmental problems of the current times and further solving them.
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