托妮.莫里森《宠儿》中的乌托邦主义
|
摘要
本文对托妮．莫里森《宠儿》中的乌托邦主义进行了研究，认为在小说人物争取和谐的生存环境，追求完整自我的行为过程中体现了乌托邦的精神；主人公经验的普遍化推进了世界的大同，也是乌托邦主义的体现。
乌托邦主义本质上是一种政治哲学，以全社会的和谐共荣为基本信仰。但现实生活中这一哲学远不止影响着政治领域。美国作为一个具有乌托邦传统的国家，其历史、文化及文学都充分体现了这一哲学的影响。但是，奴隶历史及其遗毒使得美国由理想中的伊甸园变成了黑奴及其后代的地狱。莫里森写这部小说的目的就在于帮助人们认识历史，使他们能化解基于过去的痛苦，以健康的心态过上和谐的生活。
乌托邦主义，作为信仰，其基本定义在小说中表现在主人公们对奴隶制的反抗行为和对自由和睦生活的向往追求中。Baby Suggs在林中布道所体现的热爱身体的精神，Sethe从“甜蜜之家”(奴隶庄园)的逃跑及她后来为了反抗逮捕采取的杀婴行动，以及Paul D身上所体现对女性的关爱都表现了主人公们对自由和谐生活的追求和热爱。这理想的生活正是乌托邦主义的追求目标。
但是，“解放自己是一回事，拥有解放的自我是另一回事。”(95)一个带着破碎心灵的人根本无法得到真正的和谐生活。
在第二阶段中，主人公们的精神解放被提上了日程。在他们努力整合自我的过程中，乌托邦主义的内涵加深了，它包含了一种对心灵和谐状态的追求。通过Sethe死去的女儿Beloved的归来，Sethe终于能面对过去，并在面对中重新认识自己和世界，重新整合自我。在Baby Suggs的孙女Denver身上，热爱身体的精神促使她热爱生活，她代表124达成了与同胞们的和解。Sehte在黑人同胞的帮助下，摆脱了过去的恶梦，开始重视自我的价值。Paul D在帮助Sethe，付出爱的同时也拯救了自己，主人公们在分担过去，理解宽容同胞的同时完成了精
神解放，最终使集体成为个人生存发展的港湾，使个人的自我得到了自己的确认
和他人的承认。
莫里森不仅由于对内心世界的关心加深了乌托邦主义的内涵，她还通过人
物身份的模糊性使得对和睦生活的追求普遍化，以世界大同体现了她的乌托邦思
想。
如莫里森所说，小说的结局比起现实生活己好了很多。小说与现实的距离恰
恰说明了《宠儿》中的乌托邦主义。莫里森将其关怀的重心放在人的内心世界，
把完整的自我作为真正自由生活不可或缺的部分，并探讨了获得自我确认的途
径，这些使得乌托邦主义内涵加深，由宏观领域进入微观领域，同时也体现了这
位人本主义教授对全人类的终极关怀。
This thesis is devoted to the study of utopianism in Toni Morrison's Beloved. It contends that in this novel, Morrison deepens the connotation of utopianism by exploring the characters' physical liberation, emphasizing their spiritual integration and universalizing their experience.
Utopianism is essentially a political philosophy with global social harmony as its belief. It is put to full expression in American history, culture and literature since this country is first established as a New Garden of Eden. However, the historical slavery and its legacy made this so-called new Eden a hell for the slaves and their descendents. So Morrison writes the book to prompt the reconciliation between the blacks and their bitter past and to help them live in harmony physically and spiritually.
In the novel, with human beings as the center of the concern, utopianism gets its basic explanation in the black people's resistance for a harmonious living environment. Baby Suggs' inspired prayer provides a form of collective sharing which helps the communication between individuals; and her bodily spirit distinguished by love challenges destructions done by slavery to the blacks' bodies and spirits. Sethe's escape from the plantation named Sweet Home and her commitment of infanticide declare the blacks' righteous pursuits for human identities and human existences. Paul D, different from rough black men, sets a model for the harmony between two genders with his maternal nurturing quality.
However, "F(f)reeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another. "(95) A real harmonious life cannot be obtained by one with fragmented self.
So in the next part, utopianism is mainly exhibited in the characters' efforts to integrate their selfhoods. It is a psychic process during which the characters confront the past, fight with life-denying forces, such as fragmentation, self-loath, fear and loneliness, and complete their self-integration with readiness for the future. Through
the return of Beloved, Sethe confronts her past painful experiences and comes to the new consciousness about her value of herself with help from the black community. Paul D, while being the "saving other" to Sethe, successes in reclaiming his manhood in a promise for the future. Denver, bearing Baby Suggs' bodily spirit, reaches the reconciliation with the community on behalf of 124 and meanwhile completes her adulthood with her becoming a social being who contributes to the community.
Morrison's emphasis on the pursuit of inside harmony deepens the connotation of utopianism. Besides, she illustrates utopianism by universalizing the characters' experiences. It is through the ambivalence of Beloved's identity that the characters specific stories become shared ones, and their pursuits for physical and spiritual harmony become really global.
As Morrison said, "...my story, my invention, is much, much happier than what really happened,"(Darling, 251) Beloved offers an imagined end with great possibilities for the black people's successful survivals. It is not a concrete picture of some Utopia, but the belief in a harmonious life brought by collective sharing just proves utopianism in the novel. Morrison's concern about people's inner world and her insight about the universality of the characters' experiences suggest her ultimate concern for all the human beings.
乌托邦主义本质上是一种政治哲学，以全社会的和谐共荣为基本信仰。但现实生活中这一哲学远不止影响着政治领域。美国作为一个具有乌托邦传统的国家，其历史、文化及文学都充分体现了这一哲学的影响。但是，奴隶历史及其遗毒使得美国由理想中的伊甸园变成了黑奴及其后代的地狱。莫里森写这部小说的目的就在于帮助人们认识历史，使他们能化解基于过去的痛苦，以健康的心态过上和谐的生活。
乌托邦主义，作为信仰，其基本定义在小说中表现在主人公们对奴隶制的反抗行为和对自由和睦生活的向往追求中。Baby Suggs在林中布道所体现的热爱身体的精神，Sethe从“甜蜜之家”(奴隶庄园)的逃跑及她后来为了反抗逮捕采取的杀婴行动，以及Paul D身上所体现对女性的关爱都表现了主人公们对自由和谐生活的追求和热爱。这理想的生活正是乌托邦主义的追求目标。
但是，“解放自己是一回事，拥有解放的自我是另一回事。”(95)一个带着破碎心灵的人根本无法得到真正的和谐生活。
在第二阶段中，主人公们的精神解放被提上了日程。在他们努力整合自我的过程中，乌托邦主义的内涵加深了，它包含了一种对心灵和谐状态的追求。通过Sethe死去的女儿Beloved的归来，Sethe终于能面对过去，并在面对中重新认识自己和世界，重新整合自我。在Baby Suggs的孙女Denver身上，热爱身体的精神促使她热爱生活，她代表124达成了与同胞们的和解。Sehte在黑人同胞的帮助下，摆脱了过去的恶梦，开始重视自我的价值。Paul D在帮助Sethe，付出爱的同时也拯救了自己，主人公们在分担过去，理解宽容同胞的同时完成了精
神解放，最终使集体成为个人生存发展的港湾，使个人的自我得到了自己的确认
和他人的承认。
莫里森不仅由于对内心世界的关心加深了乌托邦主义的内涵，她还通过人
物身份的模糊性使得对和睦生活的追求普遍化，以世界大同体现了她的乌托邦思
想。
如莫里森所说，小说的结局比起现实生活己好了很多。小说与现实的距离恰
恰说明了《宠儿》中的乌托邦主义。莫里森将其关怀的重心放在人的内心世界，
把完整的自我作为真正自由生活不可或缺的部分，并探讨了获得自我确认的途
径，这些使得乌托邦主义内涵加深，由宏观领域进入微观领域，同时也体现了这
位人本主义教授对全人类的终极关怀。
This thesis is devoted to the study of utopianism in Toni Morrison's Beloved. It contends that in this novel, Morrison deepens the connotation of utopianism by exploring the characters' physical liberation, emphasizing their spiritual integration and universalizing their experience.
Utopianism is essentially a political philosophy with global social harmony as its belief. It is put to full expression in American history, culture and literature since this country is first established as a New Garden of Eden. However, the historical slavery and its legacy made this so-called new Eden a hell for the slaves and their descendents. So Morrison writes the book to prompt the reconciliation between the blacks and their bitter past and to help them live in harmony physically and spiritually.
In the novel, with human beings as the center of the concern, utopianism gets its basic explanation in the black people's resistance for a harmonious living environment. Baby Suggs' inspired prayer provides a form of collective sharing which helps the communication between individuals; and her bodily spirit distinguished by love challenges destructions done by slavery to the blacks' bodies and spirits. Sethe's escape from the plantation named Sweet Home and her commitment of infanticide declare the blacks' righteous pursuits for human identities and human existences. Paul D, different from rough black men, sets a model for the harmony between two genders with his maternal nurturing quality.
However, "F(f)reeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another. "(95) A real harmonious life cannot be obtained by one with fragmented self.
So in the next part, utopianism is mainly exhibited in the characters' efforts to integrate their selfhoods. It is a psychic process during which the characters confront the past, fight with life-denying forces, such as fragmentation, self-loath, fear and loneliness, and complete their self-integration with readiness for the future. Through
the return of Beloved, Sethe confronts her past painful experiences and comes to the new consciousness about her value of herself with help from the black community. Paul D, while being the "saving other" to Sethe, successes in reclaiming his manhood in a promise for the future. Denver, bearing Baby Suggs' bodily spirit, reaches the reconciliation with the community on behalf of 124 and meanwhile completes her adulthood with her becoming a social being who contributes to the community.
Morrison's emphasis on the pursuit of inside harmony deepens the connotation of utopianism. Besides, she illustrates utopianism by universalizing the characters' experiences. It is through the ambivalence of Beloved's identity that the characters specific stories become shared ones, and their pursuits for physical and spiritual harmony become really global.
As Morrison said, "...my story, my invention, is much, much happier than what really happened,"(Darling, 251) Beloved offers an imagined end with great possibilities for the black people's successful survivals. It is not a concrete picture of some Utopia, but the belief in a harmonious life brought by collective sharing just proves utopianism in the novel. Morrison's concern about people's inner world and her insight about the universality of the characters' experiences suggest her ultimate concern for all the human beings.
引文
Bacon, Francis. Essays. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1998.
Baldick, Chris, ed. Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: Oxford University Press,2000.
Bell, Bernard W. The Afro-American Novel and Its Tradition. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1987
Bouson, J. Brooks. Quiet as It's Kept : Shame, Trauma, and Race in the Novels of Toni Morrison. Albany : State University of New York Press, 208900.
Carmean, Karen. Toni Morrison's World of Fiction. New York: Whitston, 1993.
"Conversation with Alice Childress and Toni Morrison." Black Conversation Annual 1974-1975: 90-92.
Darling, Martha. "In the Realm of Responsibility." Conversations with Toni Morrison. Ed. Danille Taylor-Guthrie. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.1994.
Duvall, John N. The Identifying Fictions of Toni Morrison : Modernist Authenticity and Postmodern Blackness. New York : Palgrave, 2000.
Eckard, Paula Gallant. Maternal Body and Voice in Toni Morrison, Bobble Ann Mason, and Lee Smith. Columbia : University of Missouri Press, c2002.
Eiehelberger, Julia, Prophets of Recognition: Ideology and the Individual in Novels by Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, Saul Bellow, and Eudora Welty. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1999.
Emory, Elliott, ed. Columbia Literary History of the United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988.
Fromm, Erich. The Art of Loving. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers,1956.
Gates, Henry Louis Jr., afterword, Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1990.
Gottfried, Amy S. Historical Nightmares and Imaginative Violence in American Women's
Writings. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1998.
Grewal, Gurleen.Circles of Sorrow, Lines of Struggle : the Novels of Toni Morrison. Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, 1998.
Heinze, Denise. The Dilemma of "Double-Consciousness": Toni Morriosn's Novels. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1993.
Higgins, Therese E. Religiosity, Cosmology and Folklore : the African Influence in the Novels of Toni Morrison. New York : Routledge, 2001.
Horvitz, Deborah. "Nameless Ghost: Possession and Dispossession in Beloved." American Fiction, vo1.17, No.2, Autumn, 1989.
Ke Wenli, ed. A Concise Chinese.English Encyclopedia Dictionary. Tian Jin: Nankai University Press, 2003.
Leonard, John. "Beloved by Toni Morrison." LosAngeles Yimnes. August 30,1987.
Major, Clarence. "In the Name of Memory." The Amrican Book Review, Vol. 9, No. 6, January-February, 1988.
Lidinsky, April. "Prophesying Bodies." The Diseourse of Slavery. Eds. Carl Plasa And Betty J. Ring. London: Routledge,1994.
Marks, Kathleen, Toni Morrison's Beloved and the Apotropaic Imagination. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2002.
McKey, Nellie Y., ed. Critical Essays on Toni Morrison, Boston: Hall, 1988.
Mori, Aoi. Toni Morrison and Womanist Discourse. New York : P. Lang, 1999.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Shanghai: Foreign language Teaching and research Press, 2000.
——Playinin the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. New York: Vintage Books,1992.
——"Novel Lecture 1993." ＜Http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/literature/1993a.html＞
Moses, Cathy. Dissenting Fictions : Identity and Resistance in the Contemporary American Novel. New York : Garland, 2000.
Page, Philip. Dangerous Freedom: Fusion and Fragmentation in Toni Morrison's Novels.
Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.1995.
Pearson, Carol., and Katherine Pope. The Female Hero in American and British Literature. New York: the R. R. Bowker Company, 1981
Roemer, Kenneth M.. "perceptual Origins: Preparign American Readers to See Utopian Fiction." Utopian Thought in American Literature. Eds. Arno Heller, Walter Holbling, and Waldemar Zacharasiewicz. Tubingen: Gunter Narr Verlag,1988.
Schapiro, Barbara. "The Bonds of Love an dthe Bondaries of Self in Toni Morrison's Beloved." Contemporary Literature, Vol.32, No. 2, Summer, 1991.
Silk, Catherine., and John Silk. Racism and Anti-racism in American Popular Culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990.
Tally, Jusfine. Toni Morrison's (Hi)Stories and Truths. Hamburg : Lit,1999.
Thomson, Rosemarie Garland. Extraordinary Bodies : Figuring Physical Disability in American Culture and Literature. New York : Columbia'University Press, 1997.
Washington, Elsie B.. "Talk with Toni Morrison." Conversations with Toni Morrison. Ed. Danille Taylor-Guthrie. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.1994.
弗洛姆：《爱的艺术》，刘福堂译，广西师范大学出版社，2002．
张京媛主编：《当代女性主义文学批评》，北京大学出版社，1992．
王守仁：《性别．种族．文化 托妮．莫里森与二十世纪美国黑人文学》，1998．
Baldick, Chris, ed. Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: Oxford University Press,2000.
Bell, Bernard W. The Afro-American Novel and Its Tradition. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1987
Bouson, J. Brooks. Quiet as It's Kept : Shame, Trauma, and Race in the Novels of Toni Morrison. Albany : State University of New York Press, 208900.
Carmean, Karen. Toni Morrison's World of Fiction. New York: Whitston, 1993.
"Conversation with Alice Childress and Toni Morrison." Black Conversation Annual 1974-1975: 90-92.
Darling, Martha. "In the Realm of Responsibility." Conversations with Toni Morrison. Ed. Danille Taylor-Guthrie. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.1994.
Duvall, John N. The Identifying Fictions of Toni Morrison : Modernist Authenticity and Postmodern Blackness. New York : Palgrave, 2000.
Eckard, Paula Gallant. Maternal Body and Voice in Toni Morrison, Bobble Ann Mason, and Lee Smith. Columbia : University of Missouri Press, c2002.
Eiehelberger, Julia, Prophets of Recognition: Ideology and the Individual in Novels by Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, Saul Bellow, and Eudora Welty. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1999.
Emory, Elliott, ed. Columbia Literary History of the United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988.
Fromm, Erich. The Art of Loving. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers,1956.
Gates, Henry Louis Jr., afterword, Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1990.
Gottfried, Amy S. Historical Nightmares and Imaginative Violence in American Women's
Writings. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1998.
Grewal, Gurleen.Circles of Sorrow, Lines of Struggle : the Novels of Toni Morrison. Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, 1998.
Heinze, Denise. The Dilemma of "Double-Consciousness": Toni Morriosn's Novels. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1993.
Higgins, Therese E. Religiosity, Cosmology and Folklore : the African Influence in the Novels of Toni Morrison. New York : Routledge, 2001.
Horvitz, Deborah. "Nameless Ghost: Possession and Dispossession in Beloved." American Fiction, vo1.17, No.2, Autumn, 1989.
Ke Wenli, ed. A Concise Chinese.English Encyclopedia Dictionary. Tian Jin: Nankai University Press, 2003.
Leonard, John. "Beloved by Toni Morrison." LosAngeles Yimnes. August 30,1987.
Major, Clarence. "In the Name of Memory." The Amrican Book Review, Vol. 9, No. 6, January-February, 1988.
Lidinsky, April. "Prophesying Bodies." The Diseourse of Slavery. Eds. Carl Plasa And Betty J. Ring. London: Routledge,1994.
Marks, Kathleen, Toni Morrison's Beloved and the Apotropaic Imagination. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2002.
McKey, Nellie Y., ed. Critical Essays on Toni Morrison, Boston: Hall, 1988.
Mori, Aoi. Toni Morrison and Womanist Discourse. New York : P. Lang, 1999.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Shanghai: Foreign language Teaching and research Press, 2000.
——Playinin the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. New York: Vintage Books,1992.
——"Novel Lecture 1993." ＜Http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/literature/1993a.html＞
Moses, Cathy. Dissenting Fictions : Identity and Resistance in the Contemporary American Novel. New York : Garland, 2000.
Page, Philip. Dangerous Freedom: Fusion and Fragmentation in Toni Morrison's Novels.
Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.1995.
Pearson, Carol., and Katherine Pope. The Female Hero in American and British Literature. New York: the R. R. Bowker Company, 1981
Roemer, Kenneth M.. "perceptual Origins: Preparign American Readers to See Utopian Fiction." Utopian Thought in American Literature. Eds. Arno Heller, Walter Holbling, and Waldemar Zacharasiewicz. Tubingen: Gunter Narr Verlag,1988.
Schapiro, Barbara. "The Bonds of Love an dthe Bondaries of Self in Toni Morrison's Beloved." Contemporary Literature, Vol.32, No. 2, Summer, 1991.
Silk, Catherine., and John Silk. Racism and Anti-racism in American Popular Culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990.
Tally, Jusfine. Toni Morrison's (Hi)Stories and Truths. Hamburg : Lit,1999.
Thomson, Rosemarie Garland. Extraordinary Bodies : Figuring Physical Disability in American Culture and Literature. New York : Columbia'University Press, 1997.
Washington, Elsie B.. "Talk with Toni Morrison." Conversations with Toni Morrison. Ed. Danille Taylor-Guthrie. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.1994.
弗洛姆：《爱的艺术》，刘福堂译，广西师范大学出版社，2002．
张京媛主编：《当代女性主义文学批评》，北京大学出版社，1992．
王守仁：《性别．种族．文化 托妮．莫里森与二十世纪美国黑人文学》，1998．