From"Watching"to"Listening":On the Existential Paradigm Shift in Joyce Carol Oates's Novel The Gravedigger's Daughter
Joyce Carol Oates's ethnic novel The Gravedigger's Daughter tells the story of Rebecca,the daughter of a German Jewish immigrant,who undergoes a journey of racial discrimination and assimilation in American society before and after World War Ⅱ,and ultimately achieves transcendence and redemption in the exchange of letters with her cousin.In the main body of the novel,Rebecca,whether as a represented object or a modern rational subject,remains in a state of complete alienation from the world,others,and even herself under the objectified existential paradigm characterized by"watching".However,in the epilogue,Rebecca achieves the balance between rationality and emotion by"listening"to the natural call of her own heart,and at the same time rebuilds the intersubjective ethical relationship with her cousin by"listening"to the latter's inner voice,thus realizing the consonance with Being.This existential paradigm shift from"watching"to"listening"that Rebecca undergoes not only implies Oates's critique of modernity characterized by rationality and subjectivity,but also reveals the alignment between Oates's creating thoughts and the philosophy of"listening"marked by"consonance"and"harmony".This monistic philosophical view undoubtedly has a positive and profound practical significance in the grand context of today's world,which is fraught with continuous conflicts and frequent wars.
The Gravedigger's Daughterwatchinglisteningmodernitytranscendence