2. 考研
  3. The work of English writer Aphra Behn (1640 ~ 1689) changed markedly during the 1680s, as she turned from writing plays to writi

The work of English writer Aphra Behn (1640 ~ 1689) changed markedly during the 1680s, as she turned from writing plays to writi

admin2017-11-28  59
问题     The work of English writer Aphra Behn (1640 ~ 1689) changed markedly during the 1680s, as she turned from writing plays to writing prose narratives. According to literary critic Rachel Carnell, most scholars view this change as primarily motivated by financial considerations: earning a living by writing for the theatre became more difficult in the 1680s, so Behn tried various other types of prose genres in the hope of finding another lucrative medium. In fact, a long epistolary scandal novel that she wrote in the mid-1680s sold quite well. Yet, as Carnell notes, Behn did not repeat this approach in her other prose works; instead, she turned to writing shorter, more serious novels, even though only about half of these were published during her lifetime. Carnell argues that Behn, whose stage productions are primarily comedies, may have turned to an emerging literary form, the novel, in a conscious attempt to criticize, and subvert for her own ends, the conventions and ideology of a well-established form of her day, the dramatic tragedy.
    Carnell acknowledges that Behn admired the skill of such contemporary writers of dramatic tragedy as John Dryden, and that Behn’s own comic stage productions displayed the same partisanship for the reigning Stuart monarchy that characterized most of the politically oriented dramatic tragedies of her day. However, Carnell argues that Behn took issue with the way in which these writers and plays defined the nature of tragedy. As prescribed by Dryden, tragedy was supposed to concern a heroic man who is a public figure and who undergoes a fall that evokes pity from the audience. Carnell points out that Behn’s tragic novels focus instead on the plight of little-known women and the private world of the household; even in her few novels featuring male protagonists, Behn insists on the importance of the crimes these otherwise heroic figures commit in the domestic sphere. Moreover, according to Carnell, Behn questioned the view promulgated by monarchist dramatic tragedies such as Dryden’s; that the envisioned "public" political ideal — passive obedience to the nation’s king — ought to be mirrored in the private sphere, with family members wholly obedient to a male head of household. Carnell sees Behn’s novels not only as rejecting the model of patriarchal and hierarchical family order , but also as warning that insisting on such a parallel can result in real tragedy befalling the members of the domestic sphere. According to Carnell, Behn’s choice of literary form underscores the differences between her own approach to crafting a tragic story and that taken in the dramatic tragedies, with their artificial distinction between the public and private spheres. Behn’s novels engage in the political dialogue of her era by demonstrating that the good of the nation ultimately encompasses more than the good of the public figures who rule it.
The passage suggests that Carnell believes Behn held which of the following attitudes about the relationship between the private and public spheres?
选项 A、The private sphere is more appropriate than is the public sphere as the setting for plays about political events.
B、The structure of the private sphere should not replicate the hierarchical order of the public sphere.
C、Actions in the private sphere are more fundamental to ensuring the good of the nation than are actions in the public sphere.
D、Crimes committed in the private sphere are likely to cause tragedy in the public sphere rather than vice versa.
答案B
解析 事实细节题。第二段第五句中指出贝恩质疑德莱顿的君主主义戏剧悲剧所体现出来的观点：“公共的”政治理想(即对国王的绝对服从)应该在家庭环境中得到体现(即家庭成员必须绝对服从男性户主)。第六句接着指出贝恩的小说所体现出来的观点：反对父权和等级森严的家庭秩序。由此可知，贝恩认为家庭结构不应该复制公共领域的结构，故答案为[B]项。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/0aua777K
本试题收录于： 翻译硕士（翻译硕士英语）题库专业硕士分类
0

翻译硕士（翻译硕士英语）

专业硕士

相关试题推荐
随机试题
最新回复(0)