生存•抗争•共荣——《紫色》的生态女性主义解读

Abstract

摘 要 本文旨在从生态女性主义的视角解读《紫色》。生态女性主义是女性主义思潮和各种理论发展的重要阶段，它把对女性的压迫和对自然的破坏置于整个压迫体系中进行研究，为认识女性困境和更真切地理解人类和自然提供了一个崭新的、广阔的视角。艾丽丝•沃克对黑人苦难的关注、对父权制和二元社会中黑人与白人、人与自然互惠共存的关系的思考体现了她深刻的生态女性主义意识。她所提倡的“妇女主义”表现出对黑人女性生活和权益的关心，而对黑人遭遇的同情和对自然的热爱使她意识到以黑人女性为代表的弱势群体和被工具化了的自然之间的关系。《紫色》之所以广受好评，很大程度上得益于沃克的生态女性主义思想。因此，对该小说进行生态女性主义解读将有助于理解男性与女性、不同种族、不同背景的人们、人与自然之间的关系。通过对沃克《紫色》的精读，本论文将从生态女性主义的视角探讨对女性的压迫和对自然的破坏。 引言部分概括性地介绍了小说作者艾丽丝•沃克及她的生态女性主义意识的形成发展过程、《紫色》中运用的写作手法以及受到的褒贬不一的评价。生态女性主义解读对于理解为什么该小说在屡受抨击之后仍广受好评提供了可能。 第一章介绍四种主要的女性主义，不同形态女性主义展示了不断发展的女性意识。由于女性主义发展过程中社会历史背景不尽相同，各种形式的女性主义代表了不同的立足点和分析视角，但是它们在女性压迫问题上不谋而合。生态女性主义以女性主义和生态的内在关联为出发点，将对女性的压迫和对自然的破坏置于压迫的整体体系中进行研究。生态女性主义使人们对于女性、人类、以及非人类自然有了更为深入的认识。沃克的《紫色》对于这种认识的体现无处不在，因此生态女性主义对于解读该小说是一种行之有效的途径。 第二章分析《紫色》所揭露的对女性的压迫和对自然的破坏。二元论和父权概念框架是西方社会压迫体系的两大因素。在基督教思想和父权传统中，女性和自然被置于次于男性的位置，她们的存在被很大程度地背景化和工具化。男性为了维护自身的优势地位，防止女性颠覆他们的优越感，运用各种手段对女性进行贬低，对自然进行开采。这一章将从五个方面（即二元论的五个主要特征）来分 析对女性以及对自然的压迫。 第三章和第四章将详细探讨黑人女性曲折的反抗历程，进一步揭示二元论和基督教神学遗产深植于各种形式的压迫中。第三章将分析《紫色》中主人公的社会主义女性主义抗争。虽然这种抗争颇为有效，但它只是争取幸福生活的初级阶段，它的目标是生存。第四章重在分析小说中体现的生态女性主义抗争，它使抗争上升到一个更高的层次，使黑人男性和女性和谐共处，也是全人类以及非人类自然繁荣发展的有效途径。不同于读者首次阅读该小说可能产生的暗淡悲观情绪，本文将谈论小说在真实描述中体现出来的乐观和对美好前景的展望。 通过对黑人女性的压迫进行深入观察，艾丽丝•沃克展现出对于生活在父权制和二元对立概念框架下的黑人以及人类整体所遭受的压迫的洞察力。《紫色》不仅体现了沃克的妇女主义，也体现了她对传统男权概念框架以及人类与自然之间的关系的思索。更重要是，沃克成功地为人与人之间、人与自然之间的和谐共处指明了道路。《紫色》是一部关于生存的小说，一部关于抗争的小说，更是一部阐释人与人、人与自然应如何和谐共处的小说。 关键词：生态女性主义；和谐；《紫色》

Abstract This M. A. thesis aims to explore The Color Purple from an ecofeminist perspective. Based on other feminist thoughts and theories, and with a unique perspective, ecofeminism is one important stage in the feminist evolution. By placing women's sufferings and environmental deterioration in systems of oppression, ecofeminism provides a new and broader vision for understanding the human situation and nature. Alice Walker has a profound ecofeminist sense, which is displayed in her preoccupation with the plight of the black, their relationship with the white in a patriarchal and dualized society, and the reciprocal bonds between human beings and nonhuman nature. Although Walker uses the word "womanism" to show her unremitting concern with the lives and rights of black women, her efforts in revealing the oppression of the black and her love for nonhuman nature lead her further into disclosing the connections of the oppression of women and the destruction of nonhuman nature. The popularity of The Color Purple lies to a large extent in the ecofeminist sense Walker demonstrates in her writing, and an ecofeminist reading of this novel means a better understanding of the relationship between men and women as well as people of different races and backgrounds, and the relationship between humans and nonhuman nature. Based on a close reading of The Color Purple, the masterpiece of Alice Walker, and mainly from the perspective of ecofeminism, this thesis aims to explore the domination and subjugation of women and nature shown in this novel. The thesis consists of an introduction, four chapters, and a conclusion. The Introduction provides the general information on the author, the main characteristics of her writing, the development of her ecofeminist sense, and the essential criticism on The Color Purple. Through the Introduction, readers can learn that an ecofeminist interpretation will help them see the reason why, despite some poignant criticism, The Color Purple remains a big success since its publication. Chapter One gives an introduction of four major forms of feminism, as the evolvement of feminism embodies the increasingly enhanced feminist awareness. Due to different social and historical contexts accompanying its development, each form of feminism has its own standpoint and perspective; nevertheless, they can always come to an agreement on issues of women's oppression. Ecofeminism sees the interconnections of feminism and ecology and takes as its main focus the disclosing of the oppression of women and the domination of nature by putting them in the systems of oppression. Ecofeminism makes it possible for a further understanding of the situation of women and nonhuman nature, and as concerns for this situation are everywhere to see in Walker's writing, it is viable to interpret The Color Purple from an ecofeminist perspective. Chapter Two aims to analyse the oppression of women and the domination of nature in The Color Purple. Dualism and the patriarchal conceptual framework are two factors responsible for the systems of oppression in the Western society. Under the influence of Christian ideology and patriarchal conventions, women and nonhuman nature are thought of as inferior to men; their existence is largely backgrounded and instrumentalised as men take the center stage. To maintain a superior position and his overwhelming arrogance, man has tried every means to degrade women and exploit nature. This chapter exposes five approaches (also main features of dualism) most applied in the oppression of women and the domination of nature. Chapters Three and Four elaborate the zig-zag struggle of black women, which further contributes to the disclosure of the dualism and Christian theological heritage embedded in various forms of oppression. Chapter Three focuses on the socialist feminist struggle in The Color Purple, which is quite effective but only considered as a preliminary stage for a better life, the stage of survival. Chapter Four functions as an elaboration of ecofeminist struggles in this novel, a method for the thriving of both black women and men, human beings and nonhuman nature. Different from the possible gloom and pessimistic emotional effect this novel deals on readers when reading for the first time, I will talk about the underlying optimistic side and desirable prospect from the author's righteous descriptions of men and women alike. The thesis reaches the conclusion that by diving deep into the domination and subjugation of the black women, Alice Walker shows her profound understanding of systems of oppression, not only those among the blacks, but also among people as a whole, who live under a patriarchal and dualistic conceptual framework. The Color Purple is more than an embodiment of Walker's womanism, as is often claimed to be; it is also a reflection of the traditional patriarchal conceptual framework and the interconnection between the human and nonhuman world; and most importantly, Walker succeeds in showing a direction for common existence and a way to a harmonious world. It is a story about the importance to survive, the need to strive, and most essentially, the method to thrive both in the past and at present. Key Words: ecofeminism; harmony; The Color Purple

学位：文学硕士

院系专业：外文学院英语语言文学系_英语语言文学

学号：12020071152630