火奴魯魯

邸明珠

【摘要】本文從女性成長(zhǎng)的主題介紹了小說《火奴魯魯》，分析了主人公從一個(gè)毫無經(jīng)驗(yàn)的女孩成長(zhǎng)為一個(gè)具有獨(dú)立人格的堅(jiān)強(qiáng)女性的故事。雖然過程漫長(zhǎng)，但她卻展示了堅(jiān)韌的意志。

【關(guān)鍵詞】后悔 成長(zhǎng)小說 女性

【Abstract】This paper， from the perspective of female Bildungsroman theme， analyzes Honolulu. The heroine Regret， from an inexperienced girl to a lady， goes through hard times. This paper is expected to enable readers to have a clear acknowledgement about Regret's development and have a deep feeling of her difficulty in chasing freedom.

【Key words】Regret； Bildungsroman； female；

Chapter1. Introduction

A road need not to be paved in gold to find treasure at its end， love always.

—Alan Brennert

A historical fiction Honolulu， which was published in 2011 and rapidly became the best-seller in America， is written by Alan Brennert.

The heroine Regret was born in a traditional Korean family influenced by Confucianism in 1897. When she was young， she couldn't attend school， just staying at home and doing some housework. She had three brothers and a sister-in-law named Blossom who was sold to her family as a child daughter-in-law. One day， Regret picked up a piece of newspaper and out of curiosity， she asked her brother what it was. From then on， she was fascinated by words. By accident， her mother visited her aunt Obedience， and Regret told Obedience she wanted to read. So， Obedience found a teacher named Evening Rose to teach her. When she returned home， she made up her mind to persuade her father to let her go to school but failed. Therefore， she was so desperate that she decided to escape from family to find another opportunity to study. Then， a match-maker appeared. The match-maker told her if she was willing to go to Hawaii as a picture bride， her life would be better. Later on， she went to Hawaii. However， the reality is that the life in Hawaii was harder than that in Korea； her husband Mr. Known was a rude man who was addicted to alcoholic and gambling. In fact， all the sufferings she could tolerate but the domestic violence that made her miscarry despaired her. Then， she escaped from her marriage to Honolulu， starting a new life. One year later， she met a man named Troy and got married. This is a brief introduction of Honolulu. This paper tries to make an analysis from the perspective of female Bildungsroman in next chapter.

Chapter 2. Symbolic Locations of Regret's Growth

2.1 A Paper： Awareness of Rebellion

A Korean girl， who was born in the late 19 century， did not have the opportunity to be educated. However， a piece of paper aroused her curiosity.

“Elder brother” I said in low voice.

“Little sister， you shouldnt be here.”

“May I ask a great favor of you？ Do you know what it is？”

“It seemed to be a kind of travel narrative written by a woman.”

From then on， Regret knew that a woman could learn to read and write words. She dreamed of learning to read words in the paper she picked. Actually， at that time， the spirit of resistance was born.

2.2 A Teacher： Expansion of Rebellion

When she visited her aunt Obedience， she had a teacher in secret to teach her. This paragraph was the first time that she had met her teacher.

She was standing at a flower store， a striking beautiful woman， no more than 30 years old. But the beauty was not the remarkable thing I noticed about her； she was not avoiding mans gaze. But to my surprise， the woman bow first， “Good morning. Why do you wish to learn？” “I wish to become a person of value and my parents will not be shamed of giving birth to me”

In fact， Evening Rose worked in a pleasure house as a geisha， a lower class in society. But we can see she was well-educated. “You seem to have a gift of language，I have a talented students.” （Alan Brennert： 2011） This was a turning point in her life. Her desire to read pushed her to fight again and again.

2.3 A match-maker： The Fullest Rebellion

After returning home， she didnt learn any more. One day， she read the newspaper and knew there was a female school in Korea， in which the girls were allowed to study. Therefore， she worked up sufficient courage to ask her father.

“Father，” I took breathe， “I would like to attend school.”

He looked at me， “is it a joke？ This notion is hilarious.”

Again， her wish to attend school became impossible. She was despaired. Only then， a match-maker appeared.

“You know how hard the life could be in Korea， So， it should come as no surprise that 1500 Korean gentlemen are living in a place called Hawaii， which is a part of America. Many of these men journey there as bachelors and become wealthy and prosperous. But it is a problem that there is not enough Korean women to marry.”

“What is sort place of Hawaii？” I asked.

“A tropical paradise”

Once Regret settled down to doing it， she would try her best. Actually， going to Hawaii without permission was unforgivable but she still made a violent resistance toward her father. Since her father didn't give her birth certificate to get a visa， Regret came up with an idea that she told everyone in her village she would go to Hawaii as a picture bride. Her father was shamed about her act， so he let her go.

2.4 An Escape： Fulfillment of Independence

For pursuing the education， Regret set out to Honolulu. We were all surprised about the size of city. Indeed， it was hardly even a city， just a collection of low buildings between green mountains and blue sea. （Alan Brennert： 2011）

Regret with other girls was disappointed when they saw the Hawaii. However， the more disappointing was their husbands. Even worse， one of grooms was nearly seventy. However， they did not have other choices. Compared with others'husbands， Regret's was much better. Then， her husband took her to their house. “Our room was consisted of three small rooms， a bedroom and so-called living room just had a table.” （Brennert： 2011）. Her life was not as good as she expected. Her husband worked in a sugarcane field and was addicted to gambling and alcohol. For relieving her husband's stress， Regret decided to work in sugarcane field but in return of the fist. Finally， her miscarry made her escape from this marriage. The two sentences were selected from the letter she wrote to her family. I have opportunity to work， I could go anywhere I wish without the man? permission， I am not the prisoner of traditions any more.（Brennert： 2011）

Regret finally had the freedom though she paid too much.

Chapter 3. Conclusions

The novel Honolulu successfully sculptures a new female image who longs for education and freedom. When I have finished this novel， I am touched by her qualities.

One is the kindness. Her sister-in-law was abandoned by her family， but Regret always cared about her. Though Regret did not succeed in bringing her to Honolulu， her act made Blossom survive in difficulties.

The other is the perseverance. For learning， she never gave up and complained. Fortunately， she had the happiness at the end.

Reference：

[1]Brennert Alan.Honolulu[M].America：St.Martin's Griffin，2011.

[2]朱春梅.《簡(jiǎn)愛》—— 一部女性成長(zhǎng)史[J].中國(guó)海洋大學(xué)， 2013.