《觉醒》中的女权思想
摘要
凯特·萧邦的《觉醒》是一部具有划时代意义的女权思想作品，阐释与评价它是一项相当艰难的任务。本文旨在从女权主义思想角度出发，分析女主人公自我意识觉醒与困惑的过程及原因，再以语言分析视角探讨主人公自我意识觉醒与作品中句法结构、语态之间的内在联系，最后剖析小说中主要意象的象征意义。
小说主要描绘了女主人公艾德娜从一个传统的、没有自我意识的家庭主妇成长为关注自我精神生活，具有现代意识女性的过程。结婚六年后，她发现婚姻已成为自我实现的羁绊，她的创造力与创作欲望无法得以实现。她还认识到孩子是把她拖向奴役深渊的敌人。于是，她对自己在社会家庭中所扮演的角色表示不满。
艾德娜的两位女友对她的影响也不可忽视。她们是拉提诺夫人和芮芝小姐。前者是典型的贤妻良母，拉提诺夫人的生活像镜子一样，折射出了艾德娜生活中自我意识的缺乏；另一个是芮芝，她具有独立自主意识，艾德娜从她那里总能找到精神的共鸣。而劳伯特的出现是女主人公主体意识彻底觉醒的直接原因。她对劳伯特产生了朦胧感情后，逐渐发现自己的生活没有生气，她希望自己像男人一样去追求理想和爱情。于是，绘画成了她表现自我的最好形式。后来，她开始卖画，想以此赢得经济地位。并且搬出如牢笼般束缚她的家，住进了租住的房子。这期间，她一边思念远方的劳伯特，一边屈从于花花公子厄络宾的调情。
困惑后的艾德娜开始觉醒，这首先表现在她追求精神生活的觉醒。她发
觉婚姻已成为束缚她的枷锁。她感受到了自己独立的心声，认识到生命自由的意义。其次是其性意识的觉醒，在与劳伯特的爱情中，她体会到了爱情带来的欲望之流。再者，是其自我与各种角色冲突的觉醒，即母性角色、妻子角色与其自我实现的冲突。她还意识到性对她的控制，她不拒绝厄络宾的调情，对这种自然力无法理解，更无法抗拒。
觉醒后的艾德娜感到孤独与困惑。她对女性选择不同道路感到困惑，对性的复杂性同样困惑不已。另外，对权利与义务之间的矛盾以及女性追求解放带来的孤独感，更是感到困惑。
波拉．A．特瑞契勒在《〈觉醒〉中的多义解释——语言分析》一文中指出：妇女的觉醒本身就是一个复杂而漫长的过程。小说一开始就使女主人公艾德娜的觉醒原因模糊不清。而小说中动词形式的多义和语法结构的转换，决定了小说意义的模糊性。女主人公出现时是以客体身份出现的，随着故事情节的发展，当她的主体意识开始觉醒时，艾德娜的形象逐渐清晰。小说中所用的词都是具体可感的，她明显存在于叙述中。她的具体行动促成了一个有力的、独立的行动肖像，更主要的是她成为语义上的主语和行动者。
《觉醒》中，为反映女主人公追求精神自由的主题，作者把一些人物活动场所，事件发生地及建筑空间作为小说的主要意象。空间意象包括度假岛，新奥尔良、大海、房屋等。同时作者也运用了其它意象如鸟等。大海是自由理想的王国，城市象征禁锢。房屋——艾德娜的家，是夫权的象征。而鸟则是被婚姻囚禁的女主人公的象征。这些意象使作品的意义呈现模糊和多元化的趋势，同时增强了作品的艺术感染力，正是凭借着这些意象的象征意义，凯特萧邦极大地拓展了《觉醒》的艺术空间。
《觉醒》中，艾德娜的死是一系列反抗行为中最高的形式。对于一个觉醒的女性，在当时的夫权社会里，她一旦屈服于传统，就必须重新面对现实，
重新沦为孩子和家庭的奴隶。她最后投入大海，是对自由的追求，是一种再生。
通过以上对《觉醒》中女性主体意识觉醒与困惑的过程及原因的探讨，对其中女主人公自我意识觉醒和句法的关系所作的分析，以及对小说中主要意象的剖析，我们不难看出，每一部成功的作品都是内容和形式的和谐统一。尤其，人们对该小说主题的认识不一定只停留在妇女解放这一范畴，而可能会延伸到对人类自身本质意义的终极关怀上，这也可以说是该作品的划时代意义所在。
The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, is a remarkable work of feminism, therefore interpreting and commenting on it is a challenging task. This thesis is an attempt to analyze Edna, the protagonist, who has a lot of awakening and perplexity with regards to her existence. Through a linguistic analysis of the text, the relationship between formal grammatical patterns and obvious narrative meaning shapes our understanding of Edna`s changing consciousness and serves as an index to its vicissitudes. Lastly, chief symbolism and imagery in this novel are interpreted in view of its theme.
Kate Chopin tends to feminism ideology in depicting Edna , a conventional housewife without individual autonomy developing into a new woman with a heartfelt concern for freedom. After six years` marriage, Edna finds herself confined to both her family and children. And her creative power and desire are buried in taking care of her husband and children. Therefore she tends to become dissatisfied with her role in family and raises questions on the value of motherhood and on marriage`s restrictions on women`s self-development.
Edna`s two girlfriends serves as foils and mirrors to her.. .Adele Ratingnolle, a mother woman, lacks of self-consciousness. Mlle Reisz, independent, from her Edna can always finds consolation and mutual understanding. Owing to both of them around her , Edna seeks to understand her own needs and actions. Robert`s appearance in her romantic world awakens her. Vaguely in love with Robert, she finds herself too bound by her dull marriage. She begins to dream that she can dream and pursue her ideal and love like men. Luckily she finds expression in painting, through which she enjoys the ease and freedom rather than accomplishment. She weds her love, dream to painting , by which she wants to
earn her independent economic status. Then she moves out of her husband`s cage-like house in to a rented one. To her moreconfusion,
she finds her in a dilemma that she misses Robert far away in Mexico. Meantime, she cannot help accepting Arobin`s flirt and solicitude.
Perplexed Edna comes to awaken. Besides recognizing the necessity in pursuit of life, she finds her marriage has become confinement to her and she longs for freedom and values its significance. Her second awakening is the awareness of erotic impulses, first toward Robert, who she loves , then toward Arobin, who she does not love, but cannot refuse. The third awakening is the awareness of conflict between rights and obligation. In other word, the conflict between individual autonomy and such social roles as a mother, a wife. She cannot understand the sexual control of her. She cannot refuse the playboy Arobin`s flirt.
The awakened Edna feels lonely and puzzled. She grows baffled as to the way-out to the paradox between women`s natural existence and their liberation., complexity of sexuality, and contradiction between rights and obligation. .Edna feels lonely enough in pursuit of women`s self-liberation and freedom.
Paula A . Treichler, in her The Construction of Ambiguity in The Awakening: A Linguistic Analysis points out that the central narrative of Kate Chopin`s novel The Awakening can be said to concern Edna Pontellier`s struggle to define herself as an active subject, and to cease to be merely the passive object of forces beyond her control. But the precise nature of this struggle, as well as its emotional and psychological dimensions, is less easily articulated. One textual counterpart to this complexity is the ongoing syntactic interplay between active and passive voice which parallel. The verb “awaken”, from which the novel`s title and central metaphor desire, formally complicates in a similar way the active and passive elements of Edna`s experience. Both transitive and intransitive, it can take a grammatical object but does not have to : someone can awaken, can be awakened, can awaken someone else. The title of the novel, a noun , is structurally unspecified and can draw on all these possibilities. Edna first appears
in The Awakening a
小说主要描绘了女主人公艾德娜从一个传统的、没有自我意识的家庭主妇成长为关注自我精神生活，具有现代意识女性的过程。结婚六年后，她发现婚姻已成为自我实现的羁绊，她的创造力与创作欲望无法得以实现。她还认识到孩子是把她拖向奴役深渊的敌人。于是，她对自己在社会家庭中所扮演的角色表示不满。
艾德娜的两位女友对她的影响也不可忽视。她们是拉提诺夫人和芮芝小姐。前者是典型的贤妻良母，拉提诺夫人的生活像镜子一样，折射出了艾德娜生活中自我意识的缺乏；另一个是芮芝，她具有独立自主意识，艾德娜从她那里总能找到精神的共鸣。而劳伯特的出现是女主人公主体意识彻底觉醒的直接原因。她对劳伯特产生了朦胧感情后，逐渐发现自己的生活没有生气，她希望自己像男人一样去追求理想和爱情。于是，绘画成了她表现自我的最好形式。后来，她开始卖画，想以此赢得经济地位。并且搬出如牢笼般束缚她的家，住进了租住的房子。这期间，她一边思念远方的劳伯特，一边屈从于花花公子厄络宾的调情。
困惑后的艾德娜开始觉醒，这首先表现在她追求精神生活的觉醒。她发
觉婚姻已成为束缚她的枷锁。她感受到了自己独立的心声，认识到生命自由的意义。其次是其性意识的觉醒，在与劳伯特的爱情中，她体会到了爱情带来的欲望之流。再者，是其自我与各种角色冲突的觉醒，即母性角色、妻子角色与其自我实现的冲突。她还意识到性对她的控制，她不拒绝厄络宾的调情，对这种自然力无法理解，更无法抗拒。
觉醒后的艾德娜感到孤独与困惑。她对女性选择不同道路感到困惑，对性的复杂性同样困惑不已。另外，对权利与义务之间的矛盾以及女性追求解放带来的孤独感，更是感到困惑。
波拉．A．特瑞契勒在《〈觉醒〉中的多义解释——语言分析》一文中指出：妇女的觉醒本身就是一个复杂而漫长的过程。小说一开始就使女主人公艾德娜的觉醒原因模糊不清。而小说中动词形式的多义和语法结构的转换，决定了小说意义的模糊性。女主人公出现时是以客体身份出现的，随着故事情节的发展，当她的主体意识开始觉醒时，艾德娜的形象逐渐清晰。小说中所用的词都是具体可感的，她明显存在于叙述中。她的具体行动促成了一个有力的、独立的行动肖像，更主要的是她成为语义上的主语和行动者。
《觉醒》中，为反映女主人公追求精神自由的主题，作者把一些人物活动场所，事件发生地及建筑空间作为小说的主要意象。空间意象包括度假岛，新奥尔良、大海、房屋等。同时作者也运用了其它意象如鸟等。大海是自由理想的王国，城市象征禁锢。房屋——艾德娜的家，是夫权的象征。而鸟则是被婚姻囚禁的女主人公的象征。这些意象使作品的意义呈现模糊和多元化的趋势，同时增强了作品的艺术感染力，正是凭借着这些意象的象征意义，凯特萧邦极大地拓展了《觉醒》的艺术空间。
《觉醒》中，艾德娜的死是一系列反抗行为中最高的形式。对于一个觉醒的女性，在当时的夫权社会里，她一旦屈服于传统，就必须重新面对现实，
重新沦为孩子和家庭的奴隶。她最后投入大海，是对自由的追求，是一种再生。
通过以上对《觉醒》中女性主体意识觉醒与困惑的过程及原因的探讨，对其中女主人公自我意识觉醒和句法的关系所作的分析，以及对小说中主要意象的剖析，我们不难看出，每一部成功的作品都是内容和形式的和谐统一。尤其，人们对该小说主题的认识不一定只停留在妇女解放这一范畴，而可能会延伸到对人类自身本质意义的终极关怀上，这也可以说是该作品的划时代意义所在。
The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, is a remarkable work of feminism, therefore interpreting and commenting on it is a challenging task. This thesis is an attempt to analyze Edna, the protagonist, who has a lot of awakening and perplexity with regards to her existence. Through a linguistic analysis of the text, the relationship between formal grammatical patterns and obvious narrative meaning shapes our understanding of Edna`s changing consciousness and serves as an index to its vicissitudes. Lastly, chief symbolism and imagery in this novel are interpreted in view of its theme.
Kate Chopin tends to feminism ideology in depicting Edna , a conventional housewife without individual autonomy developing into a new woman with a heartfelt concern for freedom. After six years` marriage, Edna finds herself confined to both her family and children. And her creative power and desire are buried in taking care of her husband and children. Therefore she tends to become dissatisfied with her role in family and raises questions on the value of motherhood and on marriage`s restrictions on women`s self-development.
Edna`s two girlfriends serves as foils and mirrors to her.. .Adele Ratingnolle, a mother woman, lacks of self-consciousness. Mlle Reisz, independent, from her Edna can always finds consolation and mutual understanding. Owing to both of them around her , Edna seeks to understand her own needs and actions. Robert`s appearance in her romantic world awakens her. Vaguely in love with Robert, she finds herself too bound by her dull marriage. She begins to dream that she can dream and pursue her ideal and love like men. Luckily she finds expression in painting, through which she enjoys the ease and freedom rather than accomplishment. She weds her love, dream to painting , by which she wants to
earn her independent economic status. Then she moves out of her husband`s cage-like house in to a rented one. To her moreconfusion,
she finds her in a dilemma that she misses Robert far away in Mexico. Meantime, she cannot help accepting Arobin`s flirt and solicitude.
Perplexed Edna comes to awaken. Besides recognizing the necessity in pursuit of life, she finds her marriage has become confinement to her and she longs for freedom and values its significance. Her second awakening is the awareness of erotic impulses, first toward Robert, who she loves , then toward Arobin, who she does not love, but cannot refuse. The third awakening is the awareness of conflict between rights and obligation. In other word, the conflict between individual autonomy and such social roles as a mother, a wife. She cannot understand the sexual control of her. She cannot refuse the playboy Arobin`s flirt.
The awakened Edna feels lonely and puzzled. She grows baffled as to the way-out to the paradox between women`s natural existence and their liberation., complexity of sexuality, and contradiction between rights and obligation. .Edna feels lonely enough in pursuit of women`s self-liberation and freedom.
Paula A . Treichler, in her The Construction of Ambiguity in The Awakening: A Linguistic Analysis points out that the central narrative of Kate Chopin`s novel The Awakening can be said to concern Edna Pontellier`s struggle to define herself as an active subject, and to cease to be merely the passive object of forces beyond her control. But the precise nature of this struggle, as well as its emotional and psychological dimensions, is less easily articulated. One textual counterpart to this complexity is the ongoing syntactic interplay between active and passive voice which parallel. The verb “awaken”, from which the novel`s title and central metaphor desire, formally complicates in a similar way the active and passive elements of Edna`s experience. Both transitive and intransitive, it can take a grammatical object but does not have to : someone can awaken, can be awakened, can awaken someone else. The title of the novel, a noun , is structurally unspecified and can draw on all these possibilities. Edna first appears
in The Awakening a
引文
[1] 朱丽叶·米切尔：《妇女：最漫长的革命》，李银河：《妇女：最漫长的革命》，转引自谷红丽：《 <觉醒>信灾魈逡馐兜慕ü褂虢峁埂罚端拇ㄍ庥镅г貉Пā罚?002年，第1期，第54页。
[2] 凯特·萧邦：《觉醒》，扬瑛美译，辽宁教育出版社，1997年，第21页。
[3]、[4]、[5]、[6]、[7]、[8]、[9]同 [2]分别是第34页，第39页，第9页，第58页，第16页，第16页，第42页。
[10] Martin Wendy ed. New Essays on The Awakening
New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988, p.92.
[11]同 [2],第105页。
[12] 转引自魏兆秋：《〈觉醒〉中的困惑》，《辽宁师范大学学报》，2000年，第4期，第82页。
[13]、[14] 同 [2]分别是 第24页 ，第59页。
[15] Per Seyersted：Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography.
New York : Octagon Books, 1980, p.146.
[16]同 [2] 第59页
[17] 扬瑛美：《〈觉醒〉序》，《觉醒》， 辽宁教育出版社，1997
年。
[18] 、[20] 、[21]、 [22]、 [23]、 [24] 同 [2]，分别是第31页、第2页、第7页、第7页、第99页、第35页
[19] Sally McConell-Ginet, Ruth Borker, Nelly Furman ed. Women and
Language in Literature and Society New York: Praeger, 1980, p.239-257.
[25] Bernard Koloski ： Approaches to Teaching Kate Chopin “The Awakening” The Modern Language Association of America New York, 1988, p.22.
[26]、[27]、[28]、[29]、[30]、[31]、[32]、[33]、[34]、[35]、[36]同[2]分别是第67页，第7页，第34页，第146页，第147页，第146页，第104页，第2页，第37页，第98页，第119页。
[37] 转引自魏兆秋、姜海生：《理论观察》，2000年, 第1期，第72页。
[38] Pegg Skaggs, Kate Chopin , Boston: Twayne, 1995, p.42.
[39] 彭贵菊：《真实的束缚，虚幻的自由》， 《外国文学评论》〉，2003年，第1期，第130页。
[40] A. B. Howard, A Woman Far Ahead of Her Time, Published on-line by the Great Plains Chatauqua Society, July 1997.
参 考 文 献
1、凯特·萧邦：《觉醒》，扬瑛美译，辽宁教育出版社，1997年。
2、Kate Chopin, The Awakening , New York: Bantam Books，1992.
3、陈晓兰：《女性主义批评与文学诠释》，敦煌文艺出版社，1999年。
4、鲍晓兰主编：《西方女性主义研究评介》，三联书店，1995。
5、Bernard Koloski : Approaches to Teaching Kate Chopin“The Awakening” The Modern Language Association of America New York , 1988.
6、Lynda.S.Borenand, Sara Desaussure Davis: Kate Chopin Reconsidered Beyond the Bayou Louisiana Sate University Press, Baton Rrouge and London ,1992.
7、刘新民：《凯特·萧邦及其〈觉醒〉》，《中国翻译》,1999年，第5期。
8、刘娟：《略谈凯特·萧邦〈觉醒〉的艺术特色》 ，《四川师范学院报》（哲社版），2001年，第1期。
9、魏兆秋：《〈觉醒〉中的困惑》，《辽宁师范大学学报》，2000年，
第4期。
10、谷红丽：《〈觉醒〉中女性主体意识的建构与解构》，《四川外语学院学报》，2002年，第1期。
11、陈姝波：《超越局限》，《外国文学》，1997年，第1期。
12、Martin Wendy ed. New Essays on The Awakening New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1988.
13、Sally McConnell-Ginet, Ruth Borker, Nelly Furman ed. Women and Language in Literature and Society New York: Praeger,1980.
[2] 凯特·萧邦：《觉醒》，扬瑛美译，辽宁教育出版社，1997年，第21页。
[3]、[4]、[5]、[6]、[7]、[8]、[9]同 [2]分别是第34页，第39页，第9页，第58页，第16页，第16页，第42页。
[10] Martin Wendy ed. New Essays on The Awakening
New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988, p.92.
[11]同 [2],第105页。
[12] 转引自魏兆秋：《〈觉醒〉中的困惑》，《辽宁师范大学学报》，2000年，第4期，第82页。
[13]、[14] 同 [2]分别是 第24页 ，第59页。
[15] Per Seyersted：Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography.
New York : Octagon Books, 1980, p.146.
[16]同 [2] 第59页
[17] 扬瑛美：《〈觉醒〉序》，《觉醒》， 辽宁教育出版社，1997
年。
[18] 、[20] 、[21]、 [22]、 [23]、 [24] 同 [2]，分别是第31页、第2页、第7页、第7页、第99页、第35页
[19] Sally McConell-Ginet, Ruth Borker, Nelly Furman ed. Women and
Language in Literature and Society New York: Praeger, 1980, p.239-257.
[25] Bernard Koloski ： Approaches to Teaching Kate Chopin “The Awakening” The Modern Language Association of America New York, 1988, p.22.
[26]、[27]、[28]、[29]、[30]、[31]、[32]、[33]、[34]、[35]、[36]同[2]分别是第67页，第7页，第34页，第146页，第147页，第146页，第104页，第2页，第37页，第98页，第119页。
[37] 转引自魏兆秋、姜海生：《理论观察》，2000年, 第1期，第72页。
[38] Pegg Skaggs, Kate Chopin , Boston: Twayne, 1995, p.42.
[39] 彭贵菊：《真实的束缚，虚幻的自由》， 《外国文学评论》〉，2003年，第1期，第130页。
[40] A. B. Howard, A Woman Far Ahead of Her Time, Published on-line by the Great Plains Chatauqua Society, July 1997.
参 考 文 献
1、凯特·萧邦：《觉醒》，扬瑛美译，辽宁教育出版社，1997年。
2、Kate Chopin, The Awakening , New York: Bantam Books，1992.
3、陈晓兰：《女性主义批评与文学诠释》，敦煌文艺出版社，1999年。
4、鲍晓兰主编：《西方女性主义研究评介》，三联书店，1995。
5、Bernard Koloski : Approaches to Teaching Kate Chopin“The Awakening” The Modern Language Association of America New York , 1988.
6、Lynda.S.Borenand, Sara Desaussure Davis: Kate Chopin Reconsidered Beyond the Bayou Louisiana Sate University Press, Baton Rrouge and London ,1992.
7、刘新民：《凯特·萧邦及其〈觉醒〉》，《中国翻译》,1999年，第5期。
8、刘娟：《略谈凯特·萧邦〈觉醒〉的艺术特色》 ，《四川师范学院报》（哲社版），2001年，第1期。
9、魏兆秋：《〈觉醒〉中的困惑》，《辽宁师范大学学报》，2000年，
第4期。
10、谷红丽：《〈觉醒〉中女性主体意识的建构与解构》，《四川外语学院学报》，2002年，第1期。
11、陈姝波：《超越局限》，《外国文学》，1997年，第1期。
12、Martin Wendy ed. New Essays on The Awakening New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1988.
13、Sally McConnell-Ginet, Ruth Borker, Nelly Furman ed. Women and Language in Literature and Society New York: Praeger,1980.
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