芳妮的謙卑、審慎與旁觀者形象——評奧斯汀的《曼斯菲爾德莊園》

Fanny Price’s Humility, Prudence, and Image as a Spectator: A Review of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park

本文從情感與道德的角度出發，探討《曼斯菲爾德莊園》(Mansfield Park)中的女主角芳妮(Fanny Price)謙卑審慎的性格以及她的旁觀者形象。謙卑(humility)是十八、十九世紀女性教育的重要方面，常被視為女性需要著重培養的一種品質，珍•奧斯汀(Jane Austen)對謙卑的刻畫既體現了她對道德的重視，也突顯了宗教意識形態下的女性氣質對男性所產生的重要影響。芳妮出於謙卑而不得不掩飾內心的情感，借助審慎(prudence)，她既彰顯了理性認知與良善的品質，同時也約束了內心的激情，實現了理性與激情的平衡。芳妮能夠恪守審慎的美德，很大程度上得益於她的旁觀者身份，她在觀察別人的同時，也在審視自己的情感。雖然她並非亞當•斯密(Adam Smith)筆下「公正的旁觀者」(impartial spectator)，但其相對公正的判斷使她得以堅定不移地恪守審慎的美德和高尚的原則。正是通過對芳妮謙卑、審慎和旁觀者形象的塑造，奧斯汀在理性與激情之間找到了一條中庸之道(mean)，並且成功將大眾的視線引向對社會禮儀和道德倫理的關注。

From the perspective of sentiment and morality, this paper explores Fanny Price’s humility and prudence as well as her image as a spectator in Mansfield Park. Humility was an important aspect of female education in the 18th and 19th centuries, often considered as a quality that women were supposed to cultivate. Jane Austen’s portrayal of humility suggests that she places a high value on morality, and it also implies that femininity has a profound impact on men under religious ideology. Humility obliges Fanny to conceal her feelings, and by virtue of prudence, she not only displays her rational cognition and good character, but also restrains her passion, thereby achieving a balance between reason and passion. That Fanny is capable of adhering to the virtue of prudence is largely due to the fact that she is a spectator, who, while observing others, is also examining her own feelings. Though Fanny is not a Smithian impartial spectator, she is able to unswervingly adhere to the virtue of prudence and the noble principles with her relatively impartial judgment. It is through the portrayal of Fanny’s humility, prudence and image as a spectator that Austen finds a mean between reason and passion, and successfully draws the public attention to social manners and moral ethics.