新物质主义视域下《玻璃动物园》中的物质能动性研究

Material Agency in Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie: A New Materialist Reading

摘要: 《玻璃动物园》中物质元素的密集在场构成了该剧显著的文本特征，几乎每一重要情节转折都与具体物件的物质属性紧密关联。新物质主义理论打破主客二分，承认非人物质具有独立能动性与生成性力量。文章则以新物质主义理论为分析框架，聚焦玻璃器物、密闭公寓空间和光影媒介三类物质载体，分析非人物质如何主动介入叙事、影响人物行为、塑造家庭关系并参与影响了悲剧走向。研究发现，该剧的现代悲剧并非仅源于人物性格或时代压力，更在于物质力量以自身逻辑深度介入了人的生存状态。文章旨在揭示《玻璃动物园》中“物”从被动符号到能动行动者的认知转换，展示新物质主义理论在戏剧文本分析中的阐释效力。

Abstract: The dense presence of material elements in The Glass Menagerie constitutes a distinctive textual feature, with nearly every significant plot turn closely tied to the physical properties of specific objects. New materialist theory challenges the subject-object dichotomy by acknowledging that non-human matter possesses independent agency and generative power. This article employs new materialism as an analytical framework, focusing on three types of material carriers, glass objects, enclosed apartment spaces, and light-shadow media, to examine how non-human materials actively intervene in the narrative, influence character behavior, shape familial relationships, and ultimately determine the tragic outcome. The study reveals that the play’s modern tragedy stems not merely from character flaws or societal pressures, but more fundamentally from the way material forces deeply and autonomously mediate human existence. The aim is to uncover the ontological shift in The Glass Menagerie from “objects” as passive symbols to active agents, demonstrating the interpretive power of new materialism in analyzing dramatic texts.