Abstract:Toni Morrison is one of the most important Afro-American female writers in the American literature history. Her works mainly choose the women as protagonists who are under the oppression of race and gender, which makes a great contribution to the western literature tradition by adding such black and female disadvantaged groups to literature. Sethe, the heroine of the novel Beloved, who has distinct personality and rebellious spirit, suffers great trauma under slavery, and is still troubled by the trauma even after the abolition of slavery. Morrison reveals the mental and physical trauma on the black caused by slavery, and expresses her enormous attention to the inner world of the black and their historical destiny through the creation of Beloved. By adopting the theories of trauma and recovery, this paper analyzes Sethe’s causes of trauma, that is, Sethe’s traumatic memories about her mother, her traumatic experiences at Sweet Home, and her infanticide action. Then this paper analyzes Sethe’s main post-traumatic symptoms: isolation and self-accusation. Finally, this paper points out Sethe recovers from trauma with her daughters as witnesses to her testimony and with the help of reconstruction of relationships with others.
Key words: Trauma；Symptom；Recovery；Testimony
摘 要:托尼•莫里森是美国文学史上最重要的黑人女作家之一。她的作品大多选择种族和性别双重压迫下的女性为主角，对黑人和女性这样的弱势群体融入西方文学传统做出了巨大贡献。小说《宠儿》的主人公塞丝，就是个个性鲜明，充满叛逆精神的女性形象，在奴隶制下遭受了巨大的身心创伤，即便奴隶制废除后，这种创伤依然困扰着她。莫里森通过创作《宠儿》，揭露了奴隶制对黑人身心的摧残，表达了她对黑人内心世界与历史命运的极大关注。本篇论文运用心理学中的创伤和复原理论分析了塞丝产生创伤的原因，即塞丝对母亲的创伤记忆，“甜蜜之家”的痛苦经历以及杀婴行为。接着，本文分析了塞丝在创伤后表现出来的主要的症状——孤立和自责。最后，本文指出塞丝在女儿的见证下以及与他人重建关系的帮助下得到痊愈。
关键词:创伤；症状；愈合；见证
