性别视域下托妮.莫里森小说的身体研究

《性别视域下托妮·莫里森小说的身体研究（英文版）》：　　Consequently， Pauline begins to view the reality of her own family with the feelings of disgust and even hatred and she herself holds the belief that the fantasy of the white world is the solution to all of her problems. The betrayal of her body enables her to lose nearly everything， which is the same as the situation of Captain Ahab in Moby Dick， who is plunged into the depths of a psychological abyss that prevent him from being able to function normally as an emotionally healthy human from the moment he loses his leg. The missing body is more than the part as small as a tooth， and what is worse is that the consequence of that loss leaves Pauline to be driven to the depths of emotional destruction as much. The fact of abandoning her body determines that Pauline is doomed to defeat. The body failure of losing her front tooth actually prevents all her aspirations from conforming to the standards of beauty. Moreover， her endeavor is further frustrated by the scientific discourses about the body of the black female.　　The self-perception of Pauline is further structured through her labor experience， which is degraded and humiliating. During the birth of her second child， Pauline chooses a hospital over a home birth， "so she could be easeful" （Bluest 98）. Not surprisingly， what is ironical is that Pauline's hospital birth is anything but easeful. Pauline， as a poor black woman， is treated with contempt and indifference by the medical staff. In the hospital， instead of receiving "nice friendly talk" as that of the white women， the staff neither speaks to Pauline nor even makes eye contact with her. The doctor， like Schoolteacher in Beloved， strips Pauline of her humanity by employing the rhetoric of animalism in the guise of science. He exclaims， "now these here women you don't have any trouble with. They deliver right away and with no pain. Just like horses" （Bluest 99）. However， Pauline goes against the denial of her subjectivity and the dehumanization of her birth experience by "moaning something awful [...] to let them know having a baby was more than a bowel movement." （Bluest 99） When her daughter， both black and female， is born， Pauline sees it as irrelevant and unimportant， which is similar to what she is seen while in the hospital.　　After going through the traumatic labor experience， Pauline starts working at the Fisher's， a white family， as a mummy to support the family. Then， she affirms her self-worth and subjectivity through managing the Fishers' home well and raising their child rather than mothering her own children. As Jennifer Gillant observes， "The role of Polly becomes a substitute for what Pauline wants： a satisfying and substantial self." In Fisher's， Pauline enjoys both power and praise， because she is respected， instead of being humiliated when she goes to the creditor and the service people on behalf of the Fishers. Working at the Fisher's offers Pauline the precious opportunity to live her life from a position of strength， which accordingly compensates for the sense of power she lost with the deterioration of her life as a wife. She is able to acquire power by working at the Fisher's， rather than yielding to powerlessness， though it is not real power. Thus， Pauline finds out a home of imaginary support at her workplace at the expense of excluding her own family： "More and more she neglected her house， her children， her man-they were like the afterthoughts one has just before sleep， [...] the dark edges that made the daily life with the Fishers lighter， more delicate， more lovely." （Bluest 127） One episode that deserves to be mentioned here is that during Pecola's visiting to Pauline's "white house，" she accidentally spills juice over the floor， which makes her mother angry and accordingly frightens the little white girl looked after by her mother. Pauline's immediate reaction is scolding her daughter while comforting the white girl. Pauline's attitude to her daughter is exactly what is stated by Rich， "A mother's victimization does not merely humiliate her [daughter]， and it mutilates the daughter who watches her for clues as to what it means to be a woman [...] the mother's self-hatred and low expectations are the binding-rags for the psyche of the daughter." ~ To her children， she is "Mrs. Breedlove，" while to the white family whom she serves， she is known as "Polly，" filling the blank of her childhood. For Pauline， the nickname "Polly" actually represents her rejection towards herself and her race， as well as her black culture.　　……