《管家》中的“融合”主题探徽

玛丽莲·罗宾逊是美国最重要的当代作家之一,她1980年出版的小说处女作《管家》是一部文笔优美、思想深刻的作品.物质和精神两个层面的“融合”是该小说最为核心的主题.物质层面的“融合”展现了自然的宽容与和谐,同时使家的概念得以延伸;精神层面的“融合”展现了两种不同的女性身份和生存方式.《管家》虽展示了两种截然不同的女性身份,但作者并没有简单、狭隘地肯定一种女性身份而去否定另一种,“融合”这一主题揭示了作家对女性生存、人与自然相处等人类所面临的重要问题的关注和思考.

Theme of Merging in Housekeeping

Marilynne Robinson is one of the most important contemporary American writers. Her first novel Housekeeping,published in 1980, is beautifully written and thought provoking. Merging or boundary dissolution is the central theme in Housekeeping . There are two types of merging: physical merging and spiritual merging. The physical merging indicates the inclusiveness of nature and extends the concept of home; the spiritual merging displays two different female subjectivities. Although there are two complete different female subjectivities, Robinson does not favor one and deny the other.This shows the width and depth of the author''s vision. The theme merging reveals the author''s concerns about some fundamental problems that humans are facing, such as female survival and the relation between humans and nature.