Journey to Be Her Own Selina:Broadening Ethnic Boundary for Selfhood in Marshall's

做她自己的瑟黎娜：馬歇爾《褐女孩，褐石屋》中擴大族裔界線來造就自我

陳淑玲(Shu-Ling Chen)

《東華人文學報》 6期 (2004/07) Pp. 255-289

https://doi.org/10.6420/DHJHS.200407.0255

摘要

非裔美籍女作家保蘿馬歇爾的教育小說《褐女孩，褐石屋》描寫在一個黑人文化背景中黑女人的生活，為當代非裔美籍女作家奠定了新的小說標準。此小說描述巴貝多移民為了在充斥著種族主義，性別主義及階級主義的美國社會中出人頭地，而屈服於進步典範。因此，女主角瑟黎娜對巴貝多社區感到疏離，也對體現社區價值的母親席拉愛恨交織。在此論文中，我研究瑟黎娜建立自我身份認同的過程，也探討種族，性別及階級的論述。瑟黎娜的自我是含混的族裔、文化的身份認同。她擴大巴貝多／加勒比的族裔界線，視自己不僅是加勒比的也是非裔美國人。
此篇論文的重點包含（1）社會背景的重要性；（2）三個其他母親－蘇季，湯普森小姐及瑪莉小姐－所扮演的角色：（3）瑟黎娜遭遇種族主義、經歷雙重意識，進而全然瞭解她膚色的意義：（4）瑟黎娜留下一個手鐲的含意。雖然最後瑟黎娜認同她母親也承認她族裔的傳承，她仍然不贊同巴貝多移民唯物價值觀及他們強調以階級為主的族裔團結。她要離開這令人窒息的社區圈去做自己的瑟黎娜。

關鍵字

保蘿馬歇爾 ； 褐女孩，褐石屋 ； 巴貝多人 ； 種族 ； 自我 ； 進步典範 ； 雙重意識 ； 其他母親

並列摘要

Caribbean/African American woman writer Paule Marshall’s Bildungsroman, Brown Girl, Brownstones is a touchstone in contemporary Afro-American women’s fiction with its portrayal of black women’s lives within the context of a black culture. The novel depicts the struggles of the Barbadian immigrants to succeed in the highly racialized, gendered, and classist American society. To realize its American dream in a hostile white world, the Barbadian community falls prey to the paradigm of progress. Consequently, Selina is alienated from the Barbadian community and feels ambivalent toward her mother, Silla, who embodies its values. In this essay, I study Selina’s journey to establish her identity, discussing the politics and discourse of race/ethnicity, gender, and class. Selina’s selfhood is a hybrid ethnic/cultural identity. She broadens her Barbadian/Caribbean ethnic boundary and sees herself as both Caribbean and African American.
The major points of the essay include, first, the significance of the social context, which shapes the values of the Barbadian community and explains its assimilation to capitalist American culture. It also contributes to the ambivalence that characterizes American-born Selina’s feelings toward her Barbadian-born mother and her ethnicity. Second, the role of the three othermothers – Suggie, Miss Thompson, and Miss Mary, is analyzed. They provide Selina with different kinds of life styles and womanhood and links to other ethnic/racial groups. They help Selina face the conflict between ethnic assimilation and individualism. Third, Selina’s encounter with racism and experiencing a double consciousness enable her to fully understand the meaning of her color and to view her mother and the other Barbadian immigrants as fellow victims. Fourth, Selina’s final gesture of leaving behind one of her bangles shows that her ambivalence toward her ethnicity remains. Although Selina identifies with her mother and acknowledges her ethnic heritage, she still disapproves of the Barbadian community’s materialistic values and strict class-based, ethnic solidarity. She intends to travel out of the stifling circle of the community’s boundary to be her own Selina.

並列關鍵字

Paule Marshall ； Brown Girl ； Brownstones ； Barbadian ； Ethnicity ； Selfhood ； Paradigm of progress ； Double consciousness ； Othermother

參考文獻

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