文学伦理学批评视阈下的《胎记》

美国作家霍桑的短篇小说《胎记》以主人公艾尔默借助科学实验祛除妻子脸上的胎记这一事件为核心，通过全知全能的第三人称叙事手法，成功地再现了美国19世纪科学不断征服自然的伦理图景，将读者引入一个伦理失衡的故事世界。本文以文学伦理学批评为研究视角，沿着“以科技祛除妻子脸上胎记”这条伦理主线，通过还原该事件发生的“伦理现场”，逐一解构小说中的“伦理选择”、“伦理身份”等“伦理结”，希图由此剖析浸淫于作品深处的伦理特性。最后，乔治亚娜的伦理反思也体现了霍桑对科学技术的发展导致人类尊严流失的控诉。

A Study of The Birthmark from the Perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism

Using third - person narration, Hawthorne tells a story that the scientist Aylmer tries to remove the birthmark from his wife＇s cheek, in which Hawthorne succeeds in drawing an ethical picture of America in the 19th century, during which period modern science features rapid development and thus guides the reader into a fictional world of ethical imbalance. This paper intends to analyze the ethical features of the novel from the perspective of ethical literary criticism. Given the historical context of the event of removing the birthmark, the paper tries to decode a set of ethical complexes such as ethical choice and ethical identi- ty. Finally, the ethical reflection of Georgiana embodies Hawthorne＇ s denouncement of science and technology, which deprives people of their dignity as human beings.