英文摘要 |
Molly Keane’s masterpiece, Good Behaviour, is a story of development narrated by itsfemale protagonist, Aroon St. Charles, who is a “big girl”—in terms of both figure andappetite—growing up in an Anglo-Irish Big House. Aroon’s development is marked byfrustration and humiliation. For one thing, despite the dwindling fortune and status of thefamily, the St. Charles nevertheless insists on a strict code of manner that sanctifies “goodbehavior,” which imposes an almost inhuman control of emotions. In the name of goodbehavior, Aroon is treated coldly and cruelly by her parents, especially her mother, whodeprives Aroon of physical nourishment and psychological comfort. As a means of survival,Aroon resorts to self-deception and pretends she is loved, so as to retain some formof selfhood however distorted it might be. Situating Good Behaviour in the tradition ofIrish anti-bildungsroman, this paper probes into Aroon’s failed socialization and its significance.Constrained by the social code of good behavior, Aroon’s self-formation is betterunderstood as self-deformation, for her sense of self is achieved wryly throughself-deception, resulting in her double alienation from her society and even more devastatinglyfrom her own self. With the anti-bildungsroman, Keane ingeniously uses the formoriginally meant for achieving development and self-knowledge to indicate the lackthereof. Whereas the denouement of classical bildungsroman lies in the protagonist finallyaccomplishing a sense of belonging, of feeling at home in the world, Aroon remainshomeless even though she is mistress of her house. Aroon’s failed socialization is whatmakes Good Behaviour such a poignant critique of the Anglo-Irish in their last days. |