Female Avenger: From Lessing's Marwood to Dürrenmatt's Claire Zachanassian

女性復仇者：從萊辛的瑪烏德到狄倫馬特的克雷爾．紮莎娜辛

蔣小虎(Xiaohu Jiang)

《語文與國際研究》 22期 (2019/12) Pp. 73-90

https://doi.org/10.3966/181147172019120022004

摘要

This essay presents a comparative reading of Gotthold Lessing's Marwood and Friedrich Dürrenmatt's Claire, and investigates the resemblances and differences between these two female avengers. Both modelled on Medea, Marwood and Claire have a similar history of love and betrayal by men with whom they have had children. Lessing highlights Marwood's extreme combination of reason and passion. The nuances of Marwood's character make it difficult to reach an unequivocal moral judgement against her. Marwood plays a vital role in creating suspense and advancing the plot. In contrast, Claire returns to her hometown with the desire to erase the nightmare of the betrayal and injustice of her youth by means of revenge. While Lessing's description of Marwood is confined to family and private life, his admirer Dürrenmatt uses Claire to represent a sharp criticism of the influence of materialism on individuals and, more importantly, upon legal, cultural and educational institutions.

關鍵字

Gotthold Lessing ； Miβ Sara Sampson ； Dürrenmatt ； Der Besuch der alten Dame ； female avenger

並列摘要

本文對比分析戈特霍爾德．萊辛筆下的瑪烏德和弗雷德里希．杜倫馬特筆下的克雷爾兩位女性復仇者。瑪烏德和克雷爾均以美狄亞為原型，兩個人物愛情經歷相似，為愛人懷孕，卻被男性拋棄。萊辛著墨于瑪烏德身上理智與感情的極度綜合，該人物的性格細節使得難以對其得出一個統一的道德審判。在製造懸疑和推動情節方面，瑪烏德發揮了至關重要的作用。相反，回到家鄉的克雷爾唯一的目標是通過報復，抹去年輕時代被人拋棄和遭受不公的噩夢。萊辛對瑪烏德的描述主要局限於家庭和私人生活，他的追隨者杜倫馬特則通過克雷爾這一角色，辛辣批判了物質主義對個體的侵蝕，更為重要的是，它還影響了法律、文化和教育體制。

並列關鍵字

戈特霍爾德．萊辛 ； 《薩拉．薩姆遜小姐》 ； 杜倫馬特 ； 《老婦還鄉》 ； 女性復仇者

參考文獻

Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex. Trans. E. M. Parshley. New York: Vintage, 1973. Print.

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York and London: Routledge, 1999. Print.

Daviau, Donald G. and Harvey I. Dunkle. "Friedrich Dürrenmatt's Der Besuch der alten Dame: A Parable of Western Society in Transition." Modern Language Quarterly 35.3 (1974): 302-316. Print.

Dürrenmatt, Friedrich. Der Besuch der alten Dame. Zürich: Diogenes Verlag, 1998. Print.

Eckermann, Johann Peter. Gespräche mit Goethe in den letzten Jahren seines Lebens 1823-1832. Berlin: Deutscher Klassiker Verlag, 2011. Print.