孫勝忠
關鍵詞: 《簡·愛》;精神追求;權力算計;成長小說;社會實用主義自我教育
摘要: 一般認為簡·愛是一個自由與平等的精神追求者。筆者以為由于地位懸殊,簡與羅切斯特之間一直處于一種征服與反征服的狀態之中;她從桑菲爾德府出走似乎是為了逃離父權統治,尋求精神上的獨立,但更是她迫于法律和社會習俗壓力的無奈之舉,從因果關系來看,或許這是她以退為進的一種策略;她最終實現社會地位的逆轉,成為女主人,與她的個人奮斗不無關系,但主要還是得益于其叔叔的遺贈,即經濟狀況是她社會地位提升的決定性因素。因此,與其說簡是一個自由與平等的精神追求者,不如說她是一個對社會下層和權威態度曖昧不明,通過權力算計和外來經濟援助獲得成功的女性。基于對當時社會、歷史和文化語境的考察,《簡·愛》可看作一部反映19世紀中葉社會實用主義自我教育觀的成長小說。
中圖分類號: I 106
文獻標志碼: A
文章編號: 10012435(2017)04050809
Key words: Jane Eyre; spiritual pursuit; power struggle; Bildungsroman; socially pragmatic Bildung
Abstract: The heroine in Jane Eyre is generally interpreted as a spiritual seeker after freedom and equality. Based on close reading of the text, this paper points out: because of great disparity of social status, Jane and Rochester have been in the state of mutual subjugation; Janes departure from Thornfield is a reluctant action under the pressure of laws and social conventions, or rather her strategy of retreating in order to advance, rather than her active flight from patriarchal mastery, nor her spiritual pursuit of independence; the final reversal of her social status by becoming a matriarch profits from her uncles bequest, namely, her rise to power is determined by her current economic position, rather than because of her personal strivings. Therefore, Jane is not a purely spiritual seeker after freedom and equality, her success is achieved by means of power struggle and external financial assistance, and her attitudes toward lower class and authority are ambiguous. Further exploration of social, historical and cultural context of that time indicates that Jane Eyre is a typical Bildungsroman which reflects socially pragmatic Bildung in the midnineteenth century.
如果說卡萊爾的《舊衣新裁》“標志著由浪漫主義時期向維多利亞時期的過渡”,[1]vii那么,勃朗特姐妹就屬于這一過渡時期的“過渡性人物”,因為她們以作家身份出現在人們視野中的時候正值19世紀之交“偉大的浪漫主義時代”行將結束與英國工業資本主義即將開始之際,處于浪漫主義和革命的年代與危機重重的工業社會這種新的社會形態誕生相互重疊的時代。[2]xi這種矛盾交織的時代背景和錯綜復雜的社會形態與她們的社會地位、家庭環境和教育背景的結合在一定程度上造就了她們的多面人格。……