Reinventing female subjectivity: the impulse of postmodern and feminist writing in Margaret Atwood's the robber bride

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Title:	Reinventing female subjectivity: the impulse of postmodern and feminist writing in Margaret Atwood's the robber bride
Other Titles:	重塑女性主體 : 論瑪格麗特．愛特伍之《強盜新娘》中後現代與女性交錯寫法
Authors:	凃淑舒;Tu, Shu-shu
Contributors:	淡江大學英文學系碩士班黃逸民;Huang, I-min
Keywords:	後現代主義;女性主義;女性主體;互文;重新評價;拼貼;posstmodernism;Feminism;female subjectivity;intertexuality;transvaluation;pastiche
Date:	2005
Issue Date:	2010-01-10 23:14:33 (UTC+8)
Abstract:	本論文旨在探究瑪格麗特．愛特伍之《強盜新娘》的重塑女性主體，透過琳達．賀欽恩的後現代主義研究，輔以瑪莉．戴力與伊麗莎白．威爾森的女性主義觀點，探索愛特伍在本書中所呈現的女性主體風貌，強調愛特伍塑造的女性主體，可以跳脫女性往往被刻化為被動柔弱形象的迷思，進而成為加害者與受害者兼具的角色，能夠主動並侵略他人。首章以分析女性主體的重要性為起點，指出後現代主義與女性主義的共通觀點在於對個人主體性的關注，以及反「一統」與「父權」界定的舊有主體性。次章提出《強盜新娘》中的後現代寫作技巧，證明愛特伍善於以童話改寫、互文、拼貼敘事技巧及多寶格的寫作架構，來闡述其重塑女性主體的企圖，尤其在本小說中創造出一個兼備加害者與協助者特色的「女惡徒」角色，可以佐證愛特伍運用後現代技巧，試圖突破既有女性形象的藩籬。第三章以瑪莉．戴力的女性主義觀點出發，強調突破父權建構之主體性的另一個可能，是對於既有的善與惡重新評價。此一重新評價的定義，正符合後現代主義強調的質疑傳統，戴力提倡唯有認清童話裡隱藏的父權意識與社會體制下的「偽女性特質」，才能明白女性主體不再是柔弱無依，進而建構屬於自己的主體性。戴力的觀點對照出《強盜新娘》裡三位女主角的心路歷程，藉由對抗與仰賴一位「女惡徒」，主角最終能夠明白自我主體性何在。第四章則藉由凸顯女性與城市之間矛盾的關係，探討愛特伍為何將童話時空挪移至今日的後現代城市多倫多，並點出女性主體在城市議題中的不可或缺性。透過主角身處城市不同空間的轉換，引導出愛特伍企圖打破「公眾女人」與「私女人」壁壘分明的城市位置。結論試圖導出「女惡徒」的存在，實際上是愛特伍致力於創立多元化與異質性的女性主體，有別於傳統「非善即惡」的觀點，愛特伍筆下的女性，不再只具備單一的善良無助特徵，而是主動、積極、善惡兼具的女性。 This thesis endeavors to examine Margaret Atwood’s The Robber Bride with a view to illustrating how Atwood reinvents female subjectivity through the usage of postmodern writing skills in analyzing such a feminist issue. My purpose of this thesis is to argue that females in literature can no longer be as passive or angelic as ever. Females can be evil, and females can be active and aggressive. Chapter One manifests a panoramic view of the notions of female subjectivity to foreground that the searching for subjectivity is a predominant issue in both postmodernism and feminism. I conclude that the impulse of postmodern and feminist arguments lies on their concerns about the individual subjectivity and their resistance against a unified and single subjectivity in conventional or masculine theories. Chapter Two unveils the postmodern strategies that Atwood has used in showing her preferring to renew and look back to other conventional works in order to create stories for women. The postmodern characteristics in this novel, such as intertexuality, pastiche narration, Chinese-box story structure and the rewritten of canonical works, reveals Atwood’s intention in using and abusing conventions in traditional and patriarchal literary works. Chapter Three, with Mary Daly’s declaration of the importance of transvaluation, spotlights the complex relationship between the three protagonists and the evil antagonist. Mary Daly insists that, by breaking the code and seeing through the patriarchal ideology hidden in literature, women can reject the false femininity, find their true selves, and construct their female subjectivity. In this chapter, the protagonists reconstruct their subjectivity by fighting against and relying on the antagonist, Zenia, who plays both the victimizer and guider that helps the protagonists get rid of the false femininity and traumatic memories. Chapter Four emphasizes the ambivalent relationship between women and the city. Different from the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale, Atwood chooses to tell a story that happens in contemporary Toronto. Her change of story background will not only deconstruct the original story background, but also reconstruct a postmodern feminist fairy tale in urban city. In this way, Atwood challenges the traditional distinction between good and evil women, and puts into question a fixed domestic space for women in urban city. In Chapter Five, the conclusion reiterates, sums up the argument of this thesis, and integrates the foresaid statements into the construction of active and aggressive female subjectivity. Through the creation of an ambivalent femme fatale, Atwood reveals her subversion of the passive and imprisoned group of female characters in conventional literature, and shows her intention to reinvent the active and aggressive female subjectivity.
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