Not a Simple Life: Representations of Female Domestic Servant in Silver Sister and A Simple Life;Not a Simple Life: Representations of Female Domestic Servant in Silver Sister and A Simple Life

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Title:	Not a Simple Life: Representations of Female Domestic Servant in Silver Sister and A Simple Life;Not a Simple Life: Representations of Female Domestic Servant in Silver Sister and A Simple Life
Authors:	陳俐瑋;Chen,Li-wei
Contributors:	英美語文學系
Keywords:	女性家務勞動;妹仔;阿媽;自梳女;許鞍華;社會史;再現敘事分析;Female domestic servitude;Mooi jai;Amah;Zishu nu;Ann Hui;Social History;Narrative Analysis
Date:	2015-06-12
Issue Date:	2015-07-30 20:15:19 (UTC+8)
Publisher:	國立中央大學
Abstract:	黃貞才一九九四年的小說「銀姐」和許鞍華二Ｏ一二年的電影「桃姐」都聚焦於呈現中國女性家務勞動者的生命故事，這兩個虛構文本不論在主題、敘事框架與主僕關係等層面都高度相似。因此本論文旨在閱讀這兩個虛構文本的角色、敘事與社會史中如自梳女、妹仔和阿媽等家務勞動主體再現的交互關係，進而指出這兩個看似相同的文本所隱含相異的敘事效果與意識形態：「銀姐」的單一敘事邏輯主張的是自我實現、女性自主和現代當下的價值，而「桃姐」的矛盾敘事邏輯則帶出人類情感關係、無私奉獻和歷史軌跡的重要性。在理解社會史敘事中的自梳女與阿媽的再現後，便能清楚構思出小說如何將主角銀姐的形象從戰爭難民轉變成獨立自主的工作女性和現代公民。而這樣的敘事意圖在於形塑一個想像的理想現代國家－澳洲，並用之對比於小說中高度父權且落後的華人社會。而電影「桃姐」中以場面調度與敘事等方式表述對桃姐家傭身分、奴役狀態與剝削的僱傭關係所做出的批評，可直接關連到社會史中的妹仔再現敘事。而藉由不同敘事類別的對照與對比，我們可以觀察出電影裡桃姐家傭身分所暗示的複雜性與她身為現代阿媽卻與過去汙名拉扯的混雜心理狀態。我利用社會史學敘事的出場，揭露出隱含在這兩個虛構文本強烈主敘事內的政治意圖與社會批評，但同時，也讓虛構文本的想像空間質疑社會史敘事的不足與絕對性。;Lillian Ng’s novel, Silver Sister (1994), and Ann Hui’s film, A Simple Life (2012), both centers on the life story of Chinese female domestic servant, and the two texts have similar narrative pattern in terms of the subjects and the relationships between the maids and their employers. This thesis aim at explicate how the two resembling stories can generate contrasting political and ideological effects by examining the correlation between these two fictional representations and social- historical representations of Chinese female domestic servitude and subjects like zishu nu, mooi jai and amah. In so doing, we can see that Silver Sister’s unitary narrative logic emphasizing individual success, female autonomy and the modern present, while A Simple Life’s ambiguous narrative suggests the importance of human companionship, selfless dedication and the historical past. By applying the social-historical narratives of zishu nu and amah, we can understand how and why the novel builds up the image of its female protagonist, Silver Sister, from a distressful war refugee into a respectable and independent working woman as well as a modern citizen. This kind of narrative strategy is applied in relation to the construction of an imagined and idealized Australia modern nation-state, which served as a contrast toward the backward and patriarchal Chinese world depicted in the novel. Nevertheless, if we approach A Simple Life with the knowledge of historical figures like mooi jai in mind, we can perceive the inconspicuous social criticism that the director makes through the use of mise en scene and narratives in regard to Tao Jie’s domestic servant identity, female domestic servitude and the exploitative nature of master-maid relationship. In addition, we can also detect the perplexity and complexity of Tao Jie’s psychological state as a modern amah who is haunted by the past stigma of mooi jai. The two fictional representations both have engrossing narratives (Silver Sister’s personal success; the transformed relationship between Tao Jie and her employer, Roger), and with the help of social-historical narratives of different domestic servant figures, the political implications and social criticism hidden within the compelling narratives are able to surface. However, on the other hand, through the juxtaposition of different kinds of narratives, the imagination of fiction is able to raise question and challenge the deficiency and certainty of social-history.
Appears in Collections:	[Graduate Program in English and American Language and Literature] Electronic Thesis & Dissertation

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