巴爾札克，十九世紀法國作家，自詡為文學界的拿破崙，一生留下為數眾多的不朽巨作，創造出自成系統的《人間喜劇》世界。寫實風格使其小說如同歷史學家的記錄一般，直接而深刻地反映時代及社會境況。論及巴爾札克的作品，不難發現其中有許多不同女性形象的描寫，尤其對母親此一角色多有著墨。本研究以巴爾札克的《兩個新婚婦女回憶錄》、《幽谷百合》、《三十歲的女人》為文本，探討女孩至母親身心的轉變過程，及十九世紀貴族女性受桎梏的不幸命運。 第一章探討小說中兩類型的母親形象。以孩子或敘事者對母親的描述，了解冷漠的母親對孩子生理和心理發展的影響；接著，反觀理想母親為兒女和家庭的犧牲與奉獻，再推至這些女性的共同處境。 第二章分析貴族女性不幸的成因。從十九世紀法國大革命後，社會整體的變動，金錢利益為核心考量的婚姻，拿破崙法典對已婚婦女的限制和規範，及女性孤立且缺乏家人指引等要素，探討社會是如何扼殺女性的幸福，進而導致女性必然的弱勢地位和悲劇。 第三章，藉由巴爾札克的理論著作《婚姻生理學》，檢視作者對教育、婚姻和社會風俗所提出的改革觀點，並探究此作品中的前瞻性思維，對應於小說的一致性，及在當代社會的可行性。 ;Balzac, self-proclaimed “Napoleon of literature”, is one of the major French novelists of the nineteenth century. He left many immortal masterpieces and his realism style makes his creations as a record of historian which offers a panorama of the French society after the French Revolution (1789). In his works, we found that there are numerous descriptions about women, especially the role of mothers. This research takes Memoirs of two young married women, The Lily of the valley and A Woman of thirty as the point of departure, to examine the process of change from a girl to a mother and the unfortunate fate of the aristocratic women in the nineteenth century. The first chapter aims to explore two different types of mothers in the novels. Through the portrayal of mothers made by children and the narrator, we try to understand the impact of an unloving mother on the physical and psychological development of her children; then we compare it with an ideal mother who demonstrates the sacrifice and the devotion for her children. In the end, we look into the common situation of these women. The second chapter analyzes the causes of misfortune of aristocratic women. The French Revolution, the Code Napoleon and the lack of family’s support lead to the inevitable tragedy of women. Based on The Physiology of Marriage, the third chapter concentrates on Balzac’s propositions of education, marriage, and social custom. We try to find out if there is a consistency between author’s forward thinking and his novels. In addition, we look into the feasibility of his reforms in the nineteenth century.
