现代性视角下《纯真年代》中女性漫游者的自我认同焦虑与探索

From the Perspective of Modernity: The Anxiety and Exploration of Self-Identity among Flâneuse in The Age of Innocence

摘要: 文章依托安东尼·吉登斯的现代性理论与劳伦·埃尔金的“漫游女子”概念，系统分析了美国作家伊迪丝·华顿小说《纯真年代》中女性漫游者梅与艾伦的主体性建构路径及其面临的性别规训。研究表明，19世纪末纽约上层社会对女性行为的严格规范深刻影响其自我认同与选择自由。与作为传统女性典范的梅相比，艾伦则以“漫游者”姿态展现其对身份流动性的追求。二者在文化背景与心理结构上的差异，促使其对“漫游”的理解呈现显著分野：梅将自我定位固化于家庭伦理框架之内，而艾伦则将其转化为精神自由与主体重构的象征。这种对比揭示出女性在现代性转型过程中所经历的身份挣扎与重构逻辑。本研究尝试将“女性漫游者”视为现代性经验中一种特殊的主体形态，并主张将“漫游”置于性别与阶级交织的历史语境中加以重审，从而拓展“漫游者”理论的适用边界，为理解现代性进程中女性主体性的生成机制提供新的学术路径。

Abstract: This paper, grounded in Anthony Giddens’ theory of modernity and Janet Woolf’s concept of the “flâneuse,” offers a systematic analysis of the subjectivity construction and gendered disciplinary mechanisms experienced by the two flâneuses—May and Ellen—in Edith Wharton’s novel The Age of Innocence. Research indicates that the rigid societal norms governing women’s behavior within the upper echelons of late 19^th-century New York exerted profound constraints on their processes of self-identity and decision-making capabilities. In contrast to May, who epitomizes the conventional ideal of femininity rooted in domestic propriety, Ellen adopts the posture of the “flâneuse” as a means of enacting her desire for identity mobility. Divergences in cultural context and psychological disposition result in a marked distinction in their conceptualizations of “flânerie”: while May internalizes her identity within the familial ethical framework, Ellen reconfigures it as a mode of asserting spiritual freedom and reconstructing subjectivity. This comparative analysis unveils the dynamics of identity negotiation and reformation undergone by women during the transition into modernity. The study proposes a novel theoretical framework by positing the “flâneuse” as a distinctive form of subjectivity within the terrain of modern experience. It further advocates for a critical reassessment of “flânerie” within a historically specific context shaped by the interplay of gender and class, thereby expanding the analytical scope of flâneuse theory and offering a fresh scholarly trajectory for understanding the emergence and articulation of female subjectivity in the modern era.