<論文>“Madonna of the Prairie” の実像 --Edna FerberのCimarronにおける女性主人公の分析--

Abstract

Cimarron (1930) は，出版当初，アメリカの西部開拓を支えた“Madonna of the Prairie”の物語として受容され，経済的な成功をおさめた．しかし，作者Edna Ferber自身がCimarronは“hard and ruthless purpose”のもとで書かれたと語るように，実はアメリカのフロンティアにまつわる神話への皮肉に満ちた内容となっていることは，ヒロインSabraの表象からも読み取れる．自らとは異質な存在へ愛や共感を寄せる女性キャラクターを好意的な視線で描くことが多いFerberとしては例外的に，Sabraに対しては一定の距離をおき，批判的に描いているとも言われる．本論では，Ferberが複雑な思いを持ちながらも丁寧に描き出したSabraを，夫の不在に伴う役割の変化の中で得たものと失ったもの，演技といった観点に着目して分析し“Madonna of the Prairie”の実像を明らかにしたい．

Edna Ferber's Cimarron (1930) was initially received as a romance that revolves around “Madonna of the Prairie, ” the white women who supported the settlement of the American frontier, and was financially successful when it was published. However, given the author's claim that Cimarron was written with a “hard and ruthless purpose, ” this novel is in fact full of irony with regards to the myths surrounding the American frontier. This can be seen from the representation of the heroine Sabra. As Ferber is known to portray female characters who express love and empathy for marginalized people in a favorable light, it is unusual for her to distance herself from Sabra and portray her critically in this work. In this paper, I analyze Sabra by focusing on her husband's absence, changes in her roles, what she gained and lost within that change, and performance, for the purpose of uncovering the true nature of “Madonna of the Prairie.”