《纯真年代》中梅与埃伦之对比研究

摘要

Regarded as one of the most influential female writers in American literature history, Edith Wharton presented the plight and miserable fate of women in patriarchal society in many of her works set in the upper class in New York in the 19th century. Through her vivid portrait of two distinct heroines—May and Ellen—in her masterpiece The Age of Innocence, Wharton revealed that women are destined to end with tragedy, whether they choose to submit to or rebel against the patriarchal society. This article makes a comparison from the aspects of appearance, inner world and view of marriage of these two female images to explore Wharton’ s female consciousness that goes through her writing.%伊迪丝·华顿被认为是美国文学史上最有影响力的女性作家之一。她的作品以19世纪纽约上流社会为时代大背景，真实地记述了女性所处的困境与悲惨命运。在代表作《纯真年代》中，华顿细腻地刻画了梅与埃伦这两个迥然不同的女性形象，揭示出在当时强大的父权制度的禁锢和束缚之下，女性无论选择屈从或是有意识反抗，都以悲剧命运告终。将二人的衣着外貌、内心世界以及婚姻观这三方面进行比较，能够发现贯穿文本始终的女性意识。