The Body Tendencies in The Ballad of the Sad Café_英语论文

摘要

卡森·麦卡勒斯出生于南方的乔治亚州哥伦布市，因其作品专注于描写美国南方人的生活状态，她亦被认为是美国南方作家的重要代表。麦卡勒斯23岁出版的第一部长篇小说《心是孤独的猎手》使她迅速蜚声文坛，也收获读者无数。本论文研究文本《伤心咖啡馆之歌》亦是她的优秀作品之一，讲述的是南方小镇之中发生的一段三角畸恋，表现的主题是精神隔绝。值得一说的是，精神隔绝是麦卡勒斯大多数作品的主题，且她的作品中很多角色都有不同程度的身体或者精神疾病。本文挑选卡森·麦卡勒斯的短篇小说《伤心咖啡馆之歌》中的主人公艾米丽亚作为论述对象，探究她的身体特点如何反应出环境与社会对她的身体造成影响。而这种影响又如何造成她的精神隔绝。其中，身体分析部分具体为运用物质女权主义中的跨躯体理论探究麦卡勒斯小说语境中工业革命对美国南方环境造成巨大伤害，而环境反噬人类，造成南方人（文本中分析的对象是艾米丽亚）的身体及心灵都有不同程度的缺陷。文本亦使用精神分析学中的镜像理论及无意识理论分析艾米丽亚对自己的身体认知。最后，本文运用了福柯的权力规训说探讨了男权社会背景下艾米丽亚受到的身体规训，而艾米丽亚做出怎样的行为去应对这些规训。最后，文章通过艾米丽亚的生理身体残疾原因、她对身体认知的错位、以及权力对她身体的规训这三个身体研究去解释她精神隔绝的成因。

关键词: 艾米丽亚  身体理论  表达与压迫

Abstract

Carson MuCullers was born in Columbus, Georgia. She is considered to be one of the most important writers in American Literature. And she owns her reputation for depicting the folk lives of the Southern people in America. MuCullers published her maiden work The Heart is A Lonely Hunter when she was 23 years old and become instantly popular for it. The novella chosen in this essay is also one of her best works, The Ballad of the Sad Café, which is about a triangle love relationship and the protagonist’s destruction. This essay aims to feature the protagonist Amelia, and analyses how the society and environment shape and effect her body. And then the results of her body analysis will be employed to explain her spiritual isolation. In the body analysis process, the Theory of Trans-corporeality will be employed to discuss the impact industrialization has brought to the environment and how the nature sends off toxins and paralyses human beings, especially referring to Amelia in this essay, in turn. Meanwhile, Psychoanalysis, or to be more specific, the mirror stage and Unconsciousness Theory, is being used to explore how Amelia recognizes her body and how her unconscious self drives her to do her deeds. Foucault’s Power Discipline theory will also be applied to study her body by analyzing the town folk’s attempt to discipline her and her rebellion against this. Through studying the origin of her disability, her perception of her gender and the power discipline posing on her body, we can well explain the cause of her spiritual isolation.

Key words: Amelia  body theories  expression and suppression 

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction.1

1.1  A Brief Introduction to Carson MuCullers.1

1.2  A Brief Introduction to The Ballad of the Sad Café.1

1.3  Purpose of the Thesis3

1.4  Structure of the Thesis3

Chapter Two  Literature Review4

2.1  Introduction.4

2.2  Studies on Carson MuCullers and The Ballad of the Sad Café Abroad4

2.3  Studies on Carson MuCullers and The Ballad of the Sad Café at Home6

2.4  Summary7

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework.8

3.1  Introduction8

3.2  The Overview of Body Studies in the West.8

3.3  Trans-corporeal Theory9

Chapter Four  Body Analysis on Amelia11

4.1  Introduction.11

4.2  Trans-corporeal Phenomenon in Amelia’s Body.11

4.3  Psychoanalysis on Amelia’s Body and Her Gender Identity.13

4.4  Power Discipline on Amelia’ s Body and Her Rebellion14

4.5  Amelia’s Body Tendencies and Her Spiritual Isolation17

Chapter Five  Conclusion19

Bibliography

Acknowledgements