致命母亲

高健

摘  要：本文從杀婴的角度分析了水仙花的短篇小说之一《新世界的智慧》。女主人公鲍林去美国后杀死了自己的孩子。而本文分析的重点就是导致鲍林杀婴的原因。两种杀婴模式可以解释她的疯狂行径。首先是捍权型杀婴，她为捍卫中国文化以及作为母亲的权力而杀害儿子。尽管鲍琳移居美国，但她还是个传统的中国女性。她不允许孩子受到另一种邪恶文化的影响和伤害。此外，她独自抚养儿子长大，逐渐将儿子当成自己的所有物，所以她不能忍受儿子被另一个文化的人抢走。第二个原因是报复型杀婴，她要报复的是父权社会。尽管别人都认为她的丈夫已经被美国化了，但是，他其实只尊重美国白人女性，而不尊重鲍琳。对于鲍琳来说，他被白人女性“诱惑”了。于是鲍琳以伤害丈夫“手臂”（儿子小元）的方式，向他报仇。可以说鲍琳杀婴的行为是爱与恨的交杂的结果，但是孩子逝去的生命再也无法挽回。

关键词：《新世界的智慧》，水仙花，杀婴

Abstract：This thesis analyzes The Wisdom of the New，one of the short stories of Sui Sin Far，from the perspective of infanticide. The heroine--Pau Lin kills her child after going to America. What leads to Pau Lins infanticide is the main focus of this paper. After analysis，two modes are deemed to be the reasons for her crazy behavior. The first is to defend the power of Chinese culture and that of her as a mother. Though an immigrant Pau Lin is，she is a traditional Chinese woman. She cannot permit her child to be totally influenced and harmed by a different and wicked culture. Besides，as she brought up her son alone，she takes him as her own belonging so she cannot bear that the boy is grabbed by a woman of another culture. The second reason is to revenge the patriarchal society. Her husband is said to be Americanized，however，he only respects the white American women but not her. For Pau Lin，he is “seduced” by the white women. To revenge her husband，Pau Lin does harm to his “limb”—little Yen. It is reasonable to say Pau Lins infanticide is the result of love and hatred. But the life of a child is irretrievable.

Key Words：Sui Sin Far，The Wisdom of the New，infanticide

1.Introduction：Sui Sin Far and The Wisdom of the New

The Wisdom of the New is one of Sui Sin Fars the short stories. By presenting the conflicts and events happened between Pau Lin who newly comes to America and her husband Sankwei who has been there for a long time，the author demonstrates the tough life for a female immigrant in America.

Sui Sin Far which is the pen name of Edith Maude Eaton who was born in a British merchants family. She is an author known for her writing about Chinese people in North America and Chinese American experience. In the early 20^thcentury，she never avoided admitting her identity as a Chinese-British mixed race and her Chinese blood even though Chinese people were looked down upon by western people. Different form the works at time，her work abandons the mode which always portrays the Chinese as the lowest people holding the most inferior jobs，such as coolie，addict and prostitute. In her stories，the Chinese is a group of hard-working，faithful and responsible people. They live in America，struggling for a good life and never stop finding their identity in this new world.

The Wisdom of the New is one of the stories selected from Sui Sin Fars only book “Mrs. Spring Fragrance”，a collection of short fiction published in 1912. In this story，the author tells the experience of a couple in America. When Wou Sankwei was in his youth，he decided to go to America and to fight for a better future for himself. Before his leaving，his mother found him a wife -- Pau Lin. Seven years have passed and Sankwei becomes a junior partner and bookkeeper of a company with the help of a white woman，Mrs. Dean. As his mother has died，he asks his wife to come to America with their son. But this decision turns to be the beginning of disaster. Pau Lin was born and brought up in China，so she is really confused by the “strange” relation between her husband and Adah Charlton who is the niece of Mrs. Dean. Pau Lin is also annoyed by her husbands behavior of cutting little Yens queue. But she still keeps her duty as a submissive wife as what a woman will do in China. However，when she finds Adah has given her newly born baby a picture，she believes that it is this white womans curse that makes the poor little thing passed away. When Adah notices that the relation between American women and Sankwei may be the reason for Pau Lins annoyance. She reminds Sankwei to be more thoughtful for his wife. Although he treats Pau Lin much better，he does not talk with her frankly about the decision to send their son to a western school. At last，Pau Lin kills Yen at the night before his first semester.

Why does Pau Lin kill her son？ Is not maternal love the deepest love for a child？ Is not mother the guardian for her child？ Pau Lin kills her son out of love or hatred？ This thesis will analyze the work and give an explanation.

2.Literature Review and Infanticide

As Sui Sin Far is always regarded as one of the important writer in writing Chinese immigrants in America and because of her unique identity，many researches have been down on her work. In this part，some representative analyses have been presented here and the key word “infanticide” will also be illustrated.

2.1Literature Review

Most of the scholars，no matter in home or abroad，mainly focus on the racial issues in Mrs. Spring Fragrance or analyze this book from the perspective of linguistic regionalism，Foucaults power theory and gender.

Yan Zhengkun and Liu Xiaos thesis “Transnational Literary Image and Racial Dilemma – On Sui Sin Fars Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings” tells the readers that it is the American economy and politics that make Chinese businessmen encounter racism and ideological dilemma（105）. In Marjorie Pryses “Linguistic Regionalism and the Emergence of Chinese American Literature in Sui Sin Fars ‘Mrs. Spring Fragrance”，the author claims that “Immigrant，ethnic，and regional writing all become inevitably marked，dialects in dialogue with the surrounding culture”（104）. Although Sui Sin Far tried to make the characters in her book keep their national uniqueness，they are finally assimilated or defeated by the cultural discourse. Other scholars like Wang Jianghong analyze this work from Foucaults power theory showing the process of womens subjectification and concludes that whether woman has power in a patriarchal society depends on their educational level. Among Chinese researches，Li Lingmei gives an analysis on Mrs. Spring Fragrance from deconstructionism. Her work refers to infanticide form the perspective of strategy of deconstructionism（77）. Scholars also do researches on the formation of Chinese Americans identity，like what is written in Vanwssa Holdford Dianas article “Biracial/Bicultural Identity in the writings of Sui Sin Far”. She points out that in accordance with the mainstream culture in America，Chinese people are unfeeling and custom-bounded（4）. They are neither Chinese nor American. But Sui Sin Far noticed such misunderstandings，began to redefine Chinese people and advocated to establish interracial relationships on the basis of love rather than hatred（11）. There is also critic focusing on the children of Chinese Americans. Martha J. Cutter says “if children become aware of the unstable nature of race and gender，… and by damaging the binary opposition can the empire mind be eradicated from the childrens mind”（45）. This is the way to achieve the real equality between different races.

However，these theses give general analyses on the book instead of analyzing this single story. Although many scholars have done researches on the whole book from the perspectives mentioned above，the analyses on the infanticide about this selected one still need to be done and perfected. This thesis will give an analysis on The Wisdom of the New around infanticide.

2.2Infanticide

Infanticide is a recurring motif in western literature. There are four types：Defending the power，Godiness，Revenge and Ignorance（Li 2）. Defending power is because of the conflict between new and old cultures，Godiness because of beliefs，Revenge out of conflict between two genders and Ignorance because of the conflict between human and fate（1）.

In western history，there are many mythologies and literature works about the motif of infanticide. “Abraham and Isaac” in the Bible is a typical work of infanticide because of Godiness. To finish what God told him，Abraham takes Isaac to an altar and decides to sacrifice his beloved son to God. Besides，Medea in Ancient Greek Mythology belongs to another type—Revenge. Out of hatred towards her husband，Medea kills her children. In 19^thand 20^thcentury，more and more literary works have described women violence. In the modern western novels，the representative masterpieces are Eugene ONeills Desire under the Elms and Tony Morrisons Beloved. Abbie kills her baby because she wants to get her husbands property and show her true love towards Eben. As for Seth，she kills her beloved daughter because she does not want her child to suffer pain caused by racial discrimination.

These two works are quite more complicated than the stories before but just as The Wisdom of the New is. As a woman suffering the double pressure from culture and society，Pau Lins crime reflects the typical dilemma for an immigrant female. The modes for Pau Lin killing little Yen can be attributed to the complex of two different types of infanticide：Defending the power and Revenge. The reasons for her crime also come from these two types and this thesis will do research on The Wisdom of the New from these two aspects.

3.Reasons for Pau Lins Infanticide

After finishing reading the whole story，it is clear that the change of living situation has exposed great influence on Pau Lins life. To find the reason for she resorts to infanticide，the social factors should be taken into consideration.

3.1The Clash of Civilization--Defending the Power

In history，the phenomenon that children were killed due to the need of defending power can be easily found. If parents perceive that they are threatened by some forces，they are more likely to engage in infanticide. Such forces may come from the conflicts between parents and children，different cultures and different values. In The Wisdom of the New，Pau Lin，the mother of little Yen，is threatened by the conflicts between different cultures. For her，infanticide is a way to defend both her and Chinese cultures powers.

Different ways treating the “old” culture and her husbands and sons attitude towards the new one shock at and hurt Pau Lin，which lead to her crazy decision. Pau Lin got married to Sankwei before he went to America，and she gave birth to little Yen. But seven years later when she comes to America and finally “raised her patient eyes to his face，the eager look of expectancy which has crossed her own faded away”（Sui 46）. Her response can be explained when little Yen happily tells her：“See mother，I am like father now. I wear no queue”（50）.

In early 20^thcentury，queue was still the cultural marker for Chinese people. Queue is also Pau Lins “pride”. In traditional ideas，a persons body is given by parents and cannot get any scratches. The queue for her is not only the symbol of culture but also symbolizes her value as a mother. The queue can tell others that she is the mother who gave birth to this boy. However，her husband and her son all cut their queues. Sankwei even takes Mrs. Dean as “a motherly looking woman”（44）. Their behaviors in Pau Lins eyes are disrespect to both her and Chinese culture，and Sankwei is even manipulated by American culture. Just like what she says when little Yen tumbles down，he attributes his fault to his feet：“So tis always the feet. They are to the spirit as the cocoon to the butterfly”（60）. Here，the feet and cocoons symbolize her identity as a mother and the Chinese culture. It is the culture and mothers brought a generation up，however，the new generation dislikes and abandons their nurturer and even pursues another one. She shouts at her son and cries：“I am ashamed of you;I am ashamed！”（50）The boy also feels hurt and disappointed.

Cutting queue is a humiliation for Pau Lin. Her husband cannot understand such feelings，but as a woman who has been influenced by Chinese culture for a longer time than Sankwei，she believes that pursuing western culture is losing face，which is much worse than losing head. Culture has a very important position in her mind. She has to take measures to defend her culture. Her roar at her son becomes a relatively mild way to defend the power of Chinese culture and her value as mother. But as the conflicts between the “old” and “new” culture become more and more，she resorts to fiercer way to defend the powers.

What is worse，when he wants to send Yen to American school，he consults Adahs advice instead of Pau Lins. He thinks that “a woman does not understand such things”（47），at least Chinese woman. Although he has been Americanized，he still looks down upon woman，especially Chinese woman. As little Yens mother，Pau Lin has no right to express her ideas about how to educate her son of whom she has raised for seven years alone. Sankwei shows no respect to her. She even cannot be as equal as an unknown white woman. She angrily says：“She has taken all your heart，but she has not given you a son. It is I who have had that task！”（51）. Sankwei answers：“You are my wife，and she — oh！ How can you speak of her so？ She，who is as a pure water-flower -- a lily！”（51）. His words and his response to Pau Lin are unbearable for any woman who takes her husband as the most important one. The word “wife” becomes the shackles of Pau Lin. The unequal conception in her husbands mind finally arouses Pau Lins resentment.

In ancient Greek mythology，a man without a child is considered as a person who has no future（41）. After their second sons death，Sankwei says to his friend that “The loss of a son is as the loss of a limb”（52）. For Chinese people，offspring is also very important for a family. There is an old Chinese saying：Unfilial acts there are three，no posterity is great. Son is not only the represent for a fathers value，glory and social status，but also the continuation of fathers life. Although Pau Lin loves her child deeply，she is seized by jealousy and hatred at that moment. Therefore，Pau Lin kills Yen，“the darling son” of Sankwei. By resorting to infanticide，Pau Lin cuts off the other “arm” of her husband，making him lose his offspring and future and torturing him in the rest of his life. Infanticide is a resistance to the unequal status of husband and wife and revenge on her husband.

4.Conclusion

The Wisdom of the New records the conflicts between two cultures，two societies and two genders. By writing this work，Sui Sin Far demonstrates the dilemma that an immigrant mother faces. To some extent，Pau Lin is the representative of many traditional Chinese women in America. They have received Chinese education and have raised their children alone for many years. But as soon as they arrived in America，they began a miserable life. The clash of culture，the risk of losing their kids to the “new” world and the unequal position in the family make them resort to extreme actions.

She and her husband treat their old culture differently. But she keeps silent，however，her husbands support for little Yen to learn “new wisdom” is unacceptable for her. As a traditional woman，she thinks she has the responsibility to defend her culture. Besides，Pau Lin believes that American culture is wicked and thinks that American women have seduced her husband and cursed her little son. When facing the conflicts of culture，Pau Lin wants to protect her child from the new cultures influence. She does not want her child to be controlled by an exotic culture. But as she finds that she is not strong enough to defend her child and her culture in a white peoples country，she kills little Yen as a protection for her son，her value as a mother and the purity of Chinese culture.

Besides，gender inequality is also one of the important reasons for Pau Lins infanticide. In the new country，in the husbands unfair attitude towards her and white women，Pau Lin can never bear the torture of her husband on her feeling. Since she came to America，she has gradually known how a white woman is treated by her husband. Comparing with her own position and rights，she realizes that she has been suffering from the oppression of her husband. She can neither have her husbands love nor the same power of providing suggestions on her childs education a white woman. These conflicts between this spouse lead to Pau Lins decision to revenge. Considering how important little Yen is，Pau Lin finally commits the crime.

Taken all above into consideration，it is clear that Pau Lin loves her child. She kills because she has to protect both her baby and her. However，this love is conquered by her hatred to his the feeling Pau Lin holds to her child is a mixture of love.

Why mothers kill is a complicate question. Mothers love their children but they cannot stand the things happen to the little kids. Therefore，Pau Lin kills her child to avoid letting him be influenced by a different culture，meanwhile，she also defends her power as a mother. As the child is also crucial for Sankwei，Pau Lins crime is also the revenge for him. Though her behavior is the result of both love and hatred，this decision is still very selfish. Children belong to the future instead of parents. The lost life of little Yen will never be brought back to life.

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