【作者】 李华；

【导师】 郭继德；

【作者基本信息】 山东大学 ， 英语语言文学， 2008， 硕士

【副题名】对薇拉·凯瑟作品《我的安东尼娅》和《啊，拓荒者！》中孤独现象的解读

【摘要】 本论文主要研究薇拉·凯瑟两部小说《我的安东尼娅》和《啊,拓荒者!》中的孤独现象。凯瑟通常被认为是美国拓荒时期西部边疆的歌颂者。但是,在为这些拓荒者高唱赞歌的同时,凯瑟也揭示了在这一特殊时期人们的精神状态。他们在同未被征服的土地进行艰苦斗争的过程中,感受到了边疆生活的那种孤独和绝望。这一点,在这两部小说中都有所反映。基于此因,笔者在这篇论文中将它们放在一起来研究,以希望能帮助读者从一个新的角度来欣赏凯瑟的作品。论文第一章主要分析了在拓荒者身上存在的孤独现象。笔者选择了一些主要人物,几个次要人物,还有一些外国移民的后代,以揭示孤独感是草原上普遍存在的一种现象。对于其中的主要人物,笔者重点分析了安东尼娅和亚历山德拉,这两人通常被认为是拓荒妇女的典型代表。次要人物中,笔者选择了雪默尔达先生,柏格森先生和两个俄国人。尽管这几个人物并不在小说中占有重要的地位,但因为他们是西部的第一批外国移民,所以他们的孤独也更具有代表性。对于外国移民的后代,笔者主要分析了莉娜和蒂妮。她们作为移民的后代,同样感到了孤独,孤独感已经从第一代外国移民传递到了他们的后代身上。第二章讨论了两部小说中孤独现象的不同表现形式。虽然这些拓荒者都不同程度的感到孤独,但他们的孤独却以不同的形式呈现。有些人采用了比较极端的方式,自杀或杀死他人;有些人终其一生一直在思念故土;有些人顽固地保留旧有习惯或记忆:有些人为避免受到伤害而从现实中隐身;而有些人则一直不断地逃避。第三章主要探讨了凯瑟在表现拓荒者的孤独时所采用的意象。从少女时代起,亚历山德拉一直在做同一个梦。但直到小说结尾处,她的梦也没有实现。更为糟糕的是,她的这个梦再也没有实现的可能性。这个梦境实际上是亚历山德拉在孤独中自身愿望的一种呈现。梦境没有实现,这也就说明她将继续处于孤独之中。此外,凯瑟还采用了一些艺术形式来表现拓荒者的孤独。在孤独的草原生活中,他们中的许多人保留了某种艺术形式:有的在音乐或乐器中寻找解脱:有的人拒绝音乐;有的求助于诗歌,绘画,甚至做衣服。不管是亚历山德拉的梦境还是这些不同的艺术形式,它们都是拓荒者孤独感的象征。第四章主要分析了造成拓荒者孤独感的原因。外国移民们感到孤独,是因为他们被边缘化了:来自于早期美国移民和其他外国移民的种族歧视将他们相互分隔开来;语言始终是一个他们难以克服的障碍;另外,他们在宗教上也有很多的不同之处。女性也被边缘化了:父权社会的影响依然要求女性的行为服从一定的规则;在婚姻生活中,妻子在地位上依然低于丈夫;即使在这两部小说中,女性也丧失了话语权,不能自由地表达自己。除了上述两个原因,凯瑟自身对美国西部的那种恐惧和疏离感也影响了她的写作,她曾经在西部感到的那种孤独也体现在了她的这两部作品中。虽然孤独现象并不是凯瑟小说中所要表达的主题,但对这一现象的研究必然会拓宽读者对凯瑟作品的理解,也将有助于进一步揭示美国这一特定时期的历史现实。更多还原

【Abstract】 This paper deals with the feeling of loneliness in two of Willa Cather’s novels: My Antonia and 0 Pioneers!. Willa Cather is generally considered as a celebrator of the American West during the period of pioneering. But while singing songs for the pioneers, she also reveals their true state of mind during that special period of time when they feel the loneliness and despair while struggling against the hard untamed land. Since the two novels share many similarities, the writer of this thesis puts them together with an intention to help the readers appreciate the novels from a new perspective.In Chapter One, the loneliness of the pioneers is analyzed. The writer of this thesis chooses some of the major characters, some of the minor characters and some of the descendants of the foreign immigrants in order to show that loneliness is really a common feeling on the prairie. For the main characters, Antonia and Alexandra are analyzed as they are generally considered as the epitome of the pioneer women. Mr. Shimerda, Mr. Bergson and the two Russians are included in the analysis of the minor characters. They do not appear very important in the novels; but since they are the first generation of the foreign pioneers, their loneliness is rather representative. For the descendants of the foreign immigrants, the writer of this thesis chooses Lena and Tiny to show that loneliness is a feeling which has been passed down to the next generation.Chapter Two discusses the different forms of loneliness in the two novels. Though the pioneers feel lonely, they do not express their loneliness in the same way. Some choose the extreme way: to kill himself or others; some keep feeling homesick all their life on the prairie; some preserve their old habits or their old memories; some retreat from the reality to avoid being hurt and some others just keep running away.Chapter Three deals with the images Miss Cather uses to indicate the loneliness of the pioneers. From girlhood, Alexandra has been having the same dream. But till the end of the novel, her dream is not realized. What’s worse, it seems her dream will never be realized. The dream is in fact Alexandra’s own desire in her loneliness. Her dream will not be realized. That is to say, she will remain lonely. Miss Cather also uses some art forms to show the loneliness of the pioneers. It seems many of the pioneers keep some forms of art in their loneliness. They may refuse or refer to music or musical instruments; they may turn to poetry, painting, even dress-making in their lonely life. Both Alexandra’s dream and the different art forms are the symbols of the loneliness of the pioneers.In Chapter Four, the reasons for the loneliness are analyzed. The foreign immigrants feel lonely because they are marginalized: the racial discrimination from the early American settlers and other foreign immigrants puts them in a separated state; language is always an obstacle that is not easily overcome; their religions are different, too. The women are also marginalized: the influence of the patriarchal society still requires the women to behave according to certain rules; within marriages the wives are still inferior to the husbands; women are silenced, even in the two novels they can not express themselves. Besides the reasons listed above, Miss Cather’s own fear and estrangement to American West affect her writing, in which the loneliness she felt is expressed.Though the feeling of loneliness is not the main topic of Miss Cather’s novels, the study of this phenomenon will surely widen the readers’ understanding of her works and reveal more about the reality of that special period of time in American history.更多还原