Hybridity: the Ethnic Identity in Doris Lessing’s In Pursuit of the English

doi:10.12002/j.bisu.455

Journal of Beijing International Studies University ›› 2023, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (3): 91-102.DOI: 10.12002/j.bisu.455

• Foreign Literature Studies • Previous Articles Next Articles

Hybridity: the Ethnic Identity in Doris Lessing’s In Pursuit of the English

Zhang Yan()

Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239001, China

Received:2019-01-27 Online:2023-07-05 Published:2023-06-30

多元混杂性：多丽丝·莱辛《追寻英国性》中的族群身份认同

章燕()

滁州学院外国语学院，239001

作者简介:章燕，滁州学院外国语学院，239001，研究方向：当代英国文学。电子邮箱：864673977@qq.com
基金资助:
教育部产学合作协同育人项目“新文科背景下实习实践校企合作平台建设”(202002312018);滁州学院科研启动基金项目“多丽丝·莱辛共同体思想研究”(2021qd03);安徽省高校教学研究重点项目“新文科背景下基于‘三元融合’的文学类专业应用型人才培养模式研究”(2020jyxm0627);安徽省高校教学研究重大项目“产教融合背景下滁州学院产业学院建设模式与路径研究”(2021jyxm1052)

Abstract

Abstract:

In Pursuit of the English is an autobiographical work by the distinguished English writer, Doris Lessing, which relates her experiences as an immigrant when she first moved to London. Taking her apartment as a symbol of the UK, Lessing explores the nature of the ethnic conflicts surrounding “Englishness”, and expresses her views about ethnic identity. Lessing’s observations of ethnic groups are of practical significance in the current globalized society that consists of diverse ethnic groups. However, there is little research on this work, which requires further exploration. In this paper, Homi Bhabha’s hybridity theory is employed to explain Lessing’s doubts about the rationality of essentialist identity and to explore the third space, which is characterized by hybridity, in the construction of the immigrant identity. Lessing figuratively reveals the social reality by describing the contradictions between the tenants and the landlords of the apartment block, ranging from an individual’s pursuit of ethnic identity to the ethnic identity of the group. In this work, Lessing deconstructs the essentialism of British identity and reveals the historical origin and core characteristics of ethnic identity, in addition to highlighting the importance of hybridity in constructing a new ethnic identity.

Keywords: Doris Lessing; identity; In Pursuit of the English; ethnic group; hybridity

摘要：

《追寻英国性》是英国作家多丽丝·莱辛的自传性纪实作品，讲述了莱辛初到伦敦时期的一段移民生活经历。莱辛以房屋为表征，探讨了围绕英国性的族群冲突的本质，表达了她对族群身份认同的看法。这一看法对全球化时代族群混杂的当下社会具有现实意义，而目前学界对此部作品的研究还较少，具有较大开拓空间。本文运用霍米·巴巴身份混杂性理论，阐释莱辛对本质主义的英国身份属性合理性的质疑，探究了作为建构移民身份的第三空间的多元混杂性特征。通过描写公寓中房客与房东的种种矛盾，莱辛形象地隐喻了英国的社会现实，从追寻个人的族群身份扩展至群体的族群身份，解构了英国人身份的本质主义属性，揭示了其历史渊源与核心特征，突出了多元混杂性在建构当代新型族群身份中的作用。

关键词: 多丽丝·莱辛, 身份认同, 追寻英国性, 族群, 混杂性

CLC Number:

I106.5

Zhang Yan. Hybridity: the Ethnic Identity in Doris Lessing’s In Pursuit of the English[J]. Journal of Beijing International Studies University, 2023, 45(3): 91-102.

章燕. 多元混杂性：多丽丝·莱辛《追寻英国性》中的族群身份认同[J]. 北京第二外国语学院学报, 2023, 45(3): 91-102.

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Hybridity: the Ethnic Identity in Doris Lessing’s In Pursuit of the English

多元混杂性：多丽丝·莱辛《追寻英国性》中的族群身份认同

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