本論文主要在探討與比較亨利．易卜生的戲劇《娃娃之屋》中的女主角諾拉與維吉尼亞•吳爾芙的小說《出航》中的主要人物芮秋，在其想像與真實旅行中尋求自我身分認同以及探索女性對自我的想望，並從十九世紀維多利亞時期西方社會文化中流行的女性意象「家中天使」探討傳統女性的家庭與社會地位。諾拉與芮秋都展現出異於一般十九世紀的傳統年代裡柔弱女性的堅毅特質。在《娃娃之屋》中，歷經家庭經濟危機與發現丈夫自私殘酷的人格後，諾拉從一位天真的妻子蛻變為決心離開家庭，獨立生活於現實社會中的女性。芮秋在《出航》裡，從她自英國倫敦航行到南美洲的熱帶叢林的旅程以及她的閱讀經驗中，逐漸探尋到真實的自我，愛戀，而後在一場急病中航向死亡。在《出航》第十章，自芮秋閱讀易卜生的戲劇集後引發她對於女性與生活的思慮中，可以看出易卜生對於吳爾芙以及諾拉對於芮秋的重大影響。
序論主要說明十九世紀西方社會的文化、文學背景，以及二位作者的生平與文本介紹。第一章從十九世紀的傳統女性形象「家中天使」，開始探討諾拉與芮秋在建立女性自我身分認同時會遇到的社會壓力與阻礙。第二章引用拉岡精神分析理論中的語言與慾望部分，以及吳爾芙的文學評論來分析諾拉與芮秋的語言特質與女性慾望。第三章自文學傳統中的男性旅行《奧德賽》到女性想像旅行中檢視諾拉與芮秋如何在旅行中找尋自我。最後的結論回顧各章要點以及這二本文本對於當代社會的重要性及影響力。

This thesis looks at the identities and desire of Nora in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Rachel in Virginia Woolf’s The Voyage Out from a comparative point of view and draws in the background of their time by looking into the contemporary popular image of woman as “the Angel in the House.” Nora and Rachel represent different types of women in the nineteenth century. In A Doll’s House, Nora changes her identity from a naïve doll-like wife as “the Angel in the House” to a woman who wants to live independently and individually in society. In The Voyage Out, Rachel experiences her voyage from England to a small town in South America, and her journey from life and love to death.
To Rachel, Ibsen’s plays always leave her in that condition. Nora in A Doll’s House is especially one female character who influences Rachel to form her identity and thoughts. Henrik Ibsen has great influence on Virginia Woolf, and Nora on Rachel. The main theme in The Voyage Out is about the psychic aspects of the heroine’s development. Rachel’s inner self grows in her voyage from England to Santa Marina in South America. But Nora’s psychic development is influenced by Mrs. Lind’s visit and Krogstad’s blackmail that make her realize the illusory nature of her happy married life with Torvald. At the end of A Doll’s Hosue and The Voyage Out, both Nora and Rachel get rid of the limitation imposed on women by marriage.
After a brief introduction of the social background of the Victorian Age, the authors, the works and other references, Chapter One will focus on female identities in the nineteenth century. The traditional female position of the “Angel in the House” will be discussed before examining the conflicts and challenges that Ibsen’s Nora in A Doll’s House and Virginia Woolf’s Rachel in The Voyage Out face. Chapter Two will apply Lacan’s definition of language and female desires from Ecrits and Virginia Woolf’s notions about female positions and desires in her essays in The Common Readers and Books and Portraits to analyze Nora’s and Rachel’s language and desires. Chapter Three will briefly discuss the tradition of the male journey before probing into Nora’s and Rachel’s journey of finding the self. The conclusion will explore female identities and desires in the works of these two authors. Moreover, that Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Virginia’s The Voyage Out are still popular now is a fact that is worthy of speculation.

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..1


Chapter One: Female Identities……………………….....……………………..22


Chapter Two: Desire as Manifested in Language………………………...……….46


Chapter Three: Female Journeys…………………………….…………………....76


Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...97


Bibliography……………………………………………………………………... ..102

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