在《華盛頓廣場》小說中一位謹慎父親的困境─父權社會裡身為人父對子女的正當保護

A Conscientious Father’s Predicament in Washington Square: The Justifiable Paternal Protection in a Patriarchy

美國大文豪亨利詹姆士的小說《華盛頓廣場》通常都被解讀為一本女性在父權社會遭受迫害的書。此書的女主角凱撒琳史絡柏被一位外貌堂皇的獵財者所迷惑，認識未深即想迅速與他結婚。她的父親奧斯丁史絡柏醫生全力反對，如此父女發生嚴重衝突，幾近毀了之間的親情。由於這個故事是以悲劇收場，男主人翁被批評為太過專制，應對其女兒的終生悲哀負責。本論文分析文本，反駁一般認為此書是父權壓迫弱女的說法。本文的結論是史絡柏的父權干預有其正當性，而凱撒琳的不幸是咎由自取。

Henry James’ Washington Square is generally construed as a novel focusing on female victimization in a patriarchal society. The heroine， Catherine Sloper， is helplessly attached to an avaricious fortune hunter with charming looks， while her stern， protective father， Dr. Austin Sloper， remains till his dying breath intransigent in his opposition to the suitor’s marriage proposal. Serious conflicts between the father and his daughter thus arise in the family and nearly ruin their relationship. As the story ends up being a tragedy， the protagonist is chastised for being a tyrannical parent who should be held ultimately accountable for his daughter’s lifelong miseries. This paper， a textual analysis on the two major characters， the father and his daughter， is a denial of the general argument that the parent is a despot and the daughter a victim. As a conclusion， Sloper’s paternal interference is justified， while Catherine’s unhappiness is attributable to her own follies.