物与身份建构——吉尔曼《黄色墙纸》中的物叙事研究

Objects and Identity Construction—A Study of Object Narratives in Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper

摘要: 美国小说家夏洛特·珀金斯·吉尔曼的《黄色墙纸》是19世纪末女性主义文学的重要代表作，以女主人公在产后抑郁中的精神困境为主线，揭示了父权制度对女性身体与思想的压抑。以往研究多将墙纸视为女性处境的隐喻符号，而本文借助比尔·布朗的“物论”，聚焦墙纸作为物质对象的叙事功能，探讨其如何从被忽视的装饰物逐渐转变为具有能动性的“类主体”，参与并推动女主人公的身份建构过程。文章分析了墙纸在叙事中表现出的物性显现、审美转向、灵性特征及其对人的精神控制，论证了“物”在极端压抑的环境下既可能成为自我认知的媒介，也可能导致主体性的异化与崩坏。本研究不仅为《黄色墙纸》提供了新的阐释路径，也展现出物叙事批评在拓展文学文本解读维度方面的理论价值与实践意义。

Abstract: Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper stands as a seminal work of late 19th-century feminist literature. Centered on the protagonist’s psychological turmoil amid postpartum depression, it exposes the patriarchal system’s suppression of women’s bodies and minds. Previous studies have predominantly interpreted the wallpaper as a metaphorical symbol of the female condition. This paper, drawing on Bill Brown’s “object theory”, focuses instead on the wallpaper’s narrative function as a material object. It explores how the wallpaper evolves from an overlooked decorative element into an active “quasi-subject”, participating in and propelling the protagonist’s identity construction process. The analysis examines the wallpaper’s material manifestations, aesthetic shifts, spiritual qualities, and its control over human consciousness within the narrative. It argues that in an environment of extreme oppression, “objects” can serve as both a medium for self-recognition and a catalyst for the alienation and collapse of subjectivity. This study not only offers a fresh interpretive approach to The Yellow Wallpaper but also demonstrates the theoretical value and practical significance of object-narrative criticism in expanding the dimensions of literary text interpretation.