试析《磨砺》中的母性主题
摘要
英国女作家玛格丽特·德拉布尔( Margaret Drabble, 1939—)是当代英国文学史上最具影响力的作家之一。她在不倦的写作过程中创造了自己独特的写作风格:流畅而机敏、幽默而敏锐、深邃而睿智。她的作品虽早已饮誉世界文坛,西方国家对德拉布尔及其作品也有大量评论,但目前国内对她的介绍和研究却还比较零星。本文试图另辟蹊径,以德拉布尔最广为流传的作品《磨砺》为切入点,以小说的母性主题及其折射出的责任、自我拯救和自我实现等多元主题为研究对象,旨在层层深入地分析德拉布尔的母性意识在《磨砺》中的体现,并指出母性是其作品的中心,是帮助构建德拉布尔思想意识的核心组成部分,进而达到抛砖引玉,为进一步的研究铺路搭桥的目的。
本论文由导论﹑正文和结论三部分组成。其主要内容如下:
导论部分主要对德拉布尔人生观的变化进行分析阐释,并指出德拉布尔把母爱看作女性追求理想的生活道路和精神支撑的最佳出路。德拉布尔始终关注当代女性的精神成长过程、心理体验和生存状态,以帮助她们寻求新的自我价值和社会地位。德拉布尔认为当代女性在母爱中才能得到精神上的满足,从而肯定自我存在的价值,坚强地生活下去。
正文部分由三章构成:
第一章从三个方面阐明德拉布尔最受欢迎的小说《磨砺》中的母性主题。首先是德拉布尔的道德观念。德拉布尔具有传统的英国道德观,在一定意义上,她的作品都带有道德探寻的意味。德拉布尔坚信小说的创作过程就是为不断变迁的社会寻找与之相适配的道德规范的过程。她认为小说家的职责即是作为探索新领土的先锋,通过阐释其间的奥秘,来拓展人类对世界的认知。探寻—阐释,这是属于道德范畴内的概念。她声明其小说的唯一目标就是尽可能严肃的反映现实生活。对于典型的玛格丽特·德拉布尔式的女主人公来说,现代女权主义的影响,不仅被承认,而且被有意识地付诸于生活实践。然而,复杂的现实生活形态却一再表明,仅有空洞的女权主义理论是不够的。在德拉布尔的小说中,解决当代女性所面临的种种困惑与冲突的关键不在于解放,而在于承认个体对其所属团体的责任感,在于一种更为个体化的道德感,因为解放不是她写作小说的目的所在,拯救才是她所要实现的第一要义。她小说中的每位主人公都在竭力寻求拯救之路。对德拉布尔来说,爱就是道
Margaret Drabble (1939-) is one of the most influential contemporary writers in the present British literary world. In her inexhaustible process of creation, she has established her unique writing style: smooth and alert, humorous and acute, profound and wise. Although Drabble has caught great attention over the past four decades and there is already significant criticism in western countries on her works, few materials are available and little research has been carried out on her in China. Therefore, this thesis will cast a new angle of view on Drabble’s most popular fiction, The Millstone, attempting to probe into the theme of maternity in The Millstone, to point out that Maternity lies at the core of Drabble’s fiction. It is an important component that helps to form the marrow of Drabble’s consciousness, to solve problems raised, and to indicate poly-themes in The Millstone and offer a few useful remarks by way of introduction so that others may come up with more valuable contributions.
The thesis consists of three parts: an introduction, the main body and the conclusion. The main content is as follows:
The introduction gives an account of the transformation of Drabble’s point of view about life and points out that Drabble regards maternal love as the best way for women to seek ideal way of life and spiritual supporter. Drabble is always concerned with the process of contemporary women’s spiritual growth, their psychological experience and their state of subsistence in order to help them seek new self value and social status. Drabble considers that only maternal love can make it possible for contemporary women to obtain spiritual satisfaction, thus affirming self value and taking heart to live.
The main body is composed of three chapters, which are presented as follows:
ChapterⅠanalyses the maternity motif in The Millstone from three aspects. The first aspect is concerned with Drabble’s moral vision. Drabble’s vision is very English and very moral. Her novels are all moral quests. Drabble believes that morality is so relative and writing novels is a constant process of relating shifting morality to shifting society. She believes that the function of a novelist is to explore new territory, to extend one’s knowledge of the world, by illuminating what one sees in it. Exploring—illuminating—that’s a fairly moral concept. She claims that her only aim is
本论文由导论﹑正文和结论三部分组成。其主要内容如下:
导论部分主要对德拉布尔人生观的变化进行分析阐释,并指出德拉布尔把母爱看作女性追求理想的生活道路和精神支撑的最佳出路。德拉布尔始终关注当代女性的精神成长过程、心理体验和生存状态,以帮助她们寻求新的自我价值和社会地位。德拉布尔认为当代女性在母爱中才能得到精神上的满足,从而肯定自我存在的价值,坚强地生活下去。
正文部分由三章构成:
第一章从三个方面阐明德拉布尔最受欢迎的小说《磨砺》中的母性主题。首先是德拉布尔的道德观念。德拉布尔具有传统的英国道德观,在一定意义上,她的作品都带有道德探寻的意味。德拉布尔坚信小说的创作过程就是为不断变迁的社会寻找与之相适配的道德规范的过程。她认为小说家的职责即是作为探索新领土的先锋,通过阐释其间的奥秘,来拓展人类对世界的认知。探寻—阐释,这是属于道德范畴内的概念。她声明其小说的唯一目标就是尽可能严肃的反映现实生活。对于典型的玛格丽特·德拉布尔式的女主人公来说,现代女权主义的影响,不仅被承认,而且被有意识地付诸于生活实践。然而,复杂的现实生活形态却一再表明,仅有空洞的女权主义理论是不够的。在德拉布尔的小说中,解决当代女性所面临的种种困惑与冲突的关键不在于解放,而在于承认个体对其所属团体的责任感,在于一种更为个体化的道德感,因为解放不是她写作小说的目的所在,拯救才是她所要实现的第一要义。她小说中的每位主人公都在竭力寻求拯救之路。对德拉布尔来说,爱就是道
Margaret Drabble (1939-) is one of the most influential contemporary writers in the present British literary world. In her inexhaustible process of creation, she has established her unique writing style: smooth and alert, humorous and acute, profound and wise. Although Drabble has caught great attention over the past four decades and there is already significant criticism in western countries on her works, few materials are available and little research has been carried out on her in China. Therefore, this thesis will cast a new angle of view on Drabble’s most popular fiction, The Millstone, attempting to probe into the theme of maternity in The Millstone, to point out that Maternity lies at the core of Drabble’s fiction. It is an important component that helps to form the marrow of Drabble’s consciousness, to solve problems raised, and to indicate poly-themes in The Millstone and offer a few useful remarks by way of introduction so that others may come up with more valuable contributions.
The thesis consists of three parts: an introduction, the main body and the conclusion. The main content is as follows:
The introduction gives an account of the transformation of Drabble’s point of view about life and points out that Drabble regards maternal love as the best way for women to seek ideal way of life and spiritual supporter. Drabble is always concerned with the process of contemporary women’s spiritual growth, their psychological experience and their state of subsistence in order to help them seek new self value and social status. Drabble considers that only maternal love can make it possible for contemporary women to obtain spiritual satisfaction, thus affirming self value and taking heart to live.
The main body is composed of three chapters, which are presented as follows:
ChapterⅠanalyses the maternity motif in The Millstone from three aspects. The first aspect is concerned with Drabble’s moral vision. Drabble’s vision is very English and very moral. Her novels are all moral quests. Drabble believes that morality is so relative and writing novels is a constant process of relating shifting morality to shifting society. She believes that the function of a novelist is to explore new territory, to extend one’s knowledge of the world, by illuminating what one sees in it. Exploring—illuminating—that’s a fairly moral concept. She claims that her only aim is
引文
1 Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex, New York, Vintage Books, 1974.
2 Bergonzi, Bernard. The Situation of the Novel, London: Macmillan, 1970.
3 Creighton, Joanne V. Margaret Drabble, London: Methuen, 1985.
4 Drabble, Margaret. The Middle Ground, Penguin Books, 1981.
5 Drabble, Margaret. The Millstone, Penguin Books, 1980.
6 Drabble, Margaret. A Natural Curiosity, Penguin Books, 1989.
7 Drabble, Margaret. The Needle’s Eyes, London: Weidenfield & Nicolson, 1975.
8 Drabble, Margaret. The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Oxford:Oxford Univ. Press, 1985.
9 Drabble, Margaret. The Peppered Moth, Penguin Books, 2000.
10 Drabble, Margaret. A Summer Bird-Cage, Penguin Books, 1980.
11 Drabble, Margaret. The Tradition of Women’s Fiction: Lectures in Japan,Tokyo: Oxford Univ. Press, 1982.
12 Drabble, Margaret. The Waterfall, Penguins Book, 1977.
13 Firchow, Peter. Margaret Drabble, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,1974.
14 Moi, Toril. Sexual/Textual Politics: Feminist Literary Theory, London:Routledge,1985.
15 Myer, Valerie Grosvenor. Margaret Drabble: A Reader’s Guide, New York: St.Martin’s Press, 1991.
16 Rose, Ellen Cronan. The Novels of Margaret Drabble: Equivocal Figures,London: Macmillan, 1980.
17 Ruth, Robbins. Literary Feminisms, London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 2000.
18 Showalter, Elaine. Toward a Feminist Poetics, London: Longman Press, 1991.
2 Bergonzi, Bernard. The Situation of the Novel, London: Macmillan, 1970.
3 Creighton, Joanne V. Margaret Drabble, London: Methuen, 1985.
4 Drabble, Margaret. The Middle Ground, Penguin Books, 1981.
5 Drabble, Margaret. The Millstone, Penguin Books, 1980.
6 Drabble, Margaret. A Natural Curiosity, Penguin Books, 1989.
7 Drabble, Margaret. The Needle’s Eyes, London: Weidenfield & Nicolson, 1975.
8 Drabble, Margaret. The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Oxford:Oxford Univ. Press, 1985.
9 Drabble, Margaret. The Peppered Moth, Penguin Books, 2000.
10 Drabble, Margaret. A Summer Bird-Cage, Penguin Books, 1980.
11 Drabble, Margaret. The Tradition of Women’s Fiction: Lectures in Japan,Tokyo: Oxford Univ. Press, 1982.
12 Drabble, Margaret. The Waterfall, Penguins Book, 1977.
13 Firchow, Peter. Margaret Drabble, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,1974.
14 Moi, Toril. Sexual/Textual Politics: Feminist Literary Theory, London:Routledge,1985.
15 Myer, Valerie Grosvenor. Margaret Drabble: A Reader’s Guide, New York: St.Martin’s Press, 1991.
16 Rose, Ellen Cronan. The Novels of Margaret Drabble: Equivocal Figures,London: Macmillan, 1980.
17 Ruth, Robbins. Literary Feminisms, London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 2000.
18 Showalter, Elaine. Toward a Feminist Poetics, London: Longman Press, 1991.