从《芒果街上的小屋》看女性自我意识的觉醒

Analysis on the Awakening of Women’s self-consciousness Of The House on Mango Street

摘要

桑德拉•希斯内罗丝是一个墨西哥裔女作家。她由于其饱受争议的小说《芒果街上的小屋》而成名。在小说中，她通过一个墨西哥裔小女孩的成长为我们展示了墨西哥裔在美国的生存状况以及芒果街上女人的悲惨生活。埃斯佩朗莎作为一个生活在美国的墨西哥裔小女孩，她所面临的压力不仅仅来自于不同民族的排斥，同时还来自墨西哥文化中对女人的歧视和压迫。通过小女孩的纯真的视角，引出了性别和种族歧视问题。

本文主要通过介绍墨西哥的文化背景、拉美裔在美国生存的社会大背景以及社区中的人物事件来阐述埃斯佩朗莎女性自我意识觉醒的过程。首先，文章阐述了墨西哥文化中两种典型的女性形象——瓜达卢佩圣母和玛琳齐。通过埃斯佩朗莎的母亲和朋友玛琳的例子来阐释这两种形象。其次，文章阐述了拉美裔在美国的生存环境。通过白人家庭的搬迁，埃斯佩朗莎意识到了民族歧视的问题。最后，文章对其生活环境进行描写，通过描绘埃斯佩朗莎身边的人和事以及埃斯佩朗莎相应的内心变化，分析其女性意识觉醒的过程。

本文不仅分析了小说女主人公埃斯佩朗莎觉醒的原因和过程，还指出了分析这一觉醒的现实意义。

关键词：芒果街上的小屋，女性，歧视，觉醒 ，文化

Abstract
Sandra Cisneros is a Mexican-American female writer. She is famous for her acclaimed novel the House on Mango Street. In the novel, she displays us the living circumstance of Mexican-American and the tragic life of the women on the mango street. Esperanza is a girl who comes from Mexico but lives in America. She faces the pressure not only from the exclusion of the other races, but also the gender discrimination from her race. From the innocence and simplicity of childhood vision, the House on Mango Street represents the complex process of the construction of the gendered and ethnic subject.
This thesis analyzes the awaking process of Esperanza’s female consciousness by introducing the Mexican cultural background, the social environment of the Hispanics and the characters and events in the community. First, the article discusses the two typical modes of women in Mexican culture, which are Our Lady of Guadalupe and Marin Qi. With the aid of the examples of Esperanza’s mother and her friend Marin, the two modes of women are illustrated clearly. Second, the article discusses the environment for the Hispanics in the United States. Because of the relocation of the white families, Esperanza is aware of the problem of the ethnic discrimination. Finally, the article discusses the influence of Esperanza’s living environment and the changes of her mind. Based on the changes, the awakening of her female consciousness is analyzed.
This thesis not only analyzes the causes and describes the awakening process of the heroine of the House on Mango Street, but also points out the practical significance of Esperanza’s awakening.
Key words: the House on Mango Street, female, discrimination, awakening, culture

Contents

摘要 II

Abstract III

1   Introduction 1

2   Literature Review 3

2.1 Bildungsroman Autobiographical and Literary Inheritance 3

2.2 Images of the Novel 3

2.3 A Research on Female Double Marginalization 5

3   Analysis on the Awakening of Women’s Self-Consciousness 7

3.1 Two Modes of Female Identity in Mexican Culture 7

3.1.1 Virgin of Guadalupe 7

3.1.2 Marin Qi 8

3.1.3 The Effect of the Mexican Culture on Esperanza 9

3.2 Mexican Social Status 10

3.3 Impact of Family 11

3.4 Impact of Women in Community 12

3.4.1 The Status Quo of Women 12

3.4.2 Women Who Struggle But Fail 13

3.4.3 Women Who Struggle and Succeed 14

4   Conclusion 16

4.1 Esperanza Awakes 16

4.2 Practical Significance of the Heroine’s Growth 16

4.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research 16

References 18