本文是一篇英语毕业论文，本研究聚焦女主角基娅在父权制家庭伦理、中产阶级道德秩序与人类中心主义认知体系的三重绞杀中，如何通过具身化的生存美学实践，完成从规训空间到自然诗学的范式转换。
Chapter One Introduction
1.1 A Brief Introduction to Delia Owens and Her works
Delia Owens (1949–) is an American biologist and author who has conducted animal research in Africa for many years. She co-founded the North Luangwa Conservation Project in Zambia and is a co-founder of the Owens Wildlife Communication Foundation in Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA. Owens has served as an editor for International Wildlife magazine for many years. Together with her husband, Mark Owens, she co-authored three well-known nonfiction books: Cry of the Kalahari, The Eye of the Elephant, and Secrets of the Savanna, which recount their experiences as wildlife biologists in Africa. Cry of the Kalahari not only made The New York Times bestseller list but also won the John Burroughs Medal for natural history writing. Additionally, the couple received the Rolex Award for Enterprise in 1981 for their Kalahari Research Project, and in 1994, they were awarded the Knight of the Golden Ark by the Netherlands.
Influenced and encouraged by her mother, since childhood, Delia has been fascinated by exploring the wilderness and studying the cruel laws of nature. As an adult, she successfully became a biologist and spent years delving into natural research. At the age of 70, an idea occurred to Delia that she decided to create a special story about a little girl living alone in the swap. That’s the birth of her debut novel called Where the Crawdads Sing. The novel tells the story of Kya, a marsh girl who is abandoned by her family, deceived by her lovers, and rejected by civilized society.
1.2 Purpose and Significance of the Thesis
Kya’s unique way of living, resisting societal constraints and coexisting with nature, closely parallels Michel Foucault’s concept of the aesthetics of existence. Foucault, by studying the ancient Greeks, proposed an aesthetics of existence centered on self-care, advocating for a life process of continual self-improvement and transformation to achieve a personalized way of being, free from societal constraints.
This thesis studies Where the Crawdads Sing based on Foucault’s aesthetics of existence for two main reasons. Firstly, the oppression and constraints Kya faces from patriarchy, the middle class, and industrial society reflect the disciplinary power opposed by Foucault’s discourse on power and sexuality. Secondly, Kya establishes a lifestyle in harmony with nature, characterized by self-sufficiency, self-education, self-care, and concern for others, which aligns with Foucault’s advocacy for an aesthetics of existence centered on the care of the self. This topic aims to offer a method of self-development for people living in modern society who, despite facing various pressures, still hold hope and confidence in life. In addition, Lu Shuyuan’s ecological trichotomy theory provides a support for the application of aesthetics of existence in the analysis of Kya’s self-development from a lonely marsh girl to a distinguished marsh expert.
Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 Previous Studies of Where the Crawdads Sing
International studies primarily examine the marsh as a liminal space and its ecological, feminist, and existential implications for Kya’s identity. On the contrary, the domestic researches have discussed the novel from many perspectives, including, ecological aesthetics, spatial theory, ecological trichotomy theory, literary ethics, existentialism, and feminism, to be exact, ecological feminism.
2.1.1 Studies Abroad
With regard to researches abroad, the focus has been put on the application of marsh space, ecology, existentialism and feminism, particularly eco-feminism to analyze the environment and main character, i.e., the marsh and the marsh girl.
In the article, “Action and the urgency of anthropological voice” (2023), Annika Salisbury carries out a close reading of the text using three different ecocritical lenses—postcolonial ecocriticism, ecofeminism, and climate change criticism—and with a focus on three themes, respectively—voice, agency, and urgency. It finds first, through an exploration of voice and a postcolonial ecocritical lens, that both nature and Kya are othered in the novel but come to be heard and respected over time; secondly, through an exploration of agency and an ecofeminist lens, that activity rather than passivity is ascribed to nature and Kya, and their interconnectedness acts as a positive force for change; and third, through an exploration of urgency and a climate change criticism lens, that the interconnectedness of nature and Kya persuades readers to care about the natural world and appreciate the need to respect and protect it, using a subtle rather than overtly political message.
2.2 Previous Studies on Aesthetics of Existence
Foreign research on the aesthetics of existence began relatively early, primarily focusing on “the care of the self” and “technologies of the self”, while also addressing the construction of subjectivity. Domestic studies on the aesthetics of existence truly commenced with Gao Xuanyang’s comprehensive introduction to the concept. Subsequent scholars expanded it into areas such as body aesthetics and poetic existence, applying it to the analysis of literary works.
2.2.1 Studies Abroad
With regard to studies abroad, research on aesthetics of existence also primarily focuses on the care of the self and technologies of the self within aesthetics of existence and discussion on subjectivity. In the article, “Foucault’s idea of philosophy as ‘Care of the Self’: Critical assessment and conflicting metaphilosophical views,” (2013) Cristian Iftode try to provide acritical assessment of the ethical ‘shift’ in Foucault’s texts, courses and interviews from his final years, arguing that the idea of philosophical practice seen as ‘care of the self’ is the major theme of his final project. The ‘aesthetics of existence’, to be exact, a poetics of the self, is fitted for our times as the only possible resistance to biopolitical normalization. And in the article, “Foucault, counselling and the aesthetics of existence” (2005), Michael A. Peters hold the thought that the aesthetics of existence as a set of creative and experimental processes and techniques by which an individual turns him- or herself into a work of art and we could shape our lives through the capacity of choice-making.
Chapter Three the Disciplinary Power in Where the Crawdads Sing .................... 16
3.1 Control and Discipline of the Marsh Girl: Oppression from Patriarchal World................ 17
3.1.1 Domestic Violence and Control from Father ..................... 18
3.1.2 Male Gaze and Alienated Body Aesthetics ............................ 20
Chapter Four Transgression of Discipline Through Kya’s Practice of Aesthetic Existence .............. 36
4.1 Care for Self ....................................... 37
4.1.1 Self-reliance and Self-love with Nature as the Nurturer ....................... 39
4.1.2 Self-learning with Nature as the Cultivator ........................... 41
Chapter Five the Achievement of Kya’s Poetic Existence: Construction of Subjectivity ............................... 60
5.1 Independent Woman Free from the Disciplinary Power ................................. 61
5.1.1 Triumph over the Patriarchal Power: Killing the Oppressor ................ 62
5.1.2 Constructing Her Unique Lifestyle: far from Madding Crowd ............ 64
Chapter Five the Achievement of Kya’s Poetic Existence: Construction of Subjectivity
5.1 Independent Woman Free from the Disciplinary Power
The French feminist representative Simone de Beauvoir, in her work The Second Sex, interprets feminist views through an existentialist lens, proposing that “existentialist feminism emphasizes the transcendence of the so-called ‘femininity,’ attempting to escape the state of ‘otherness’ and ‘alterity,’ so that women’s subjectivity can be established, allowing women to become free subjects and realize their own value” (Lui 39). Through the practice of aesthetics of existence, Kya successfully breaks free from these shackles, achieving self-transcendence and awakening subjectivity in various aspects, such as economics, culture, and ethics, demonstrating the possibility for women to achieve independence and freedom in a male-dominated society.
Kya displays a tenacious spirit of resistance in the face of male oppression. She bravely kills Chase, who attempts to rape her, and successfully defeats the prejudice and accusations against her in court, ultimately being acquitted. This victory is not only a rebuttal to male violence but also a resistance against societal prejudice, marking her transition from a passive “other” to an active subject, achieving a dual transcendence over male authority and societal rules.
Chapter Six Conclusion
Where the Crawdads Sing portrays the protagonist Kya’s journey of growth, reflecting an individual’s resistance and transcendence under multiple disciplinary forces. At the same time, it explores the complex relationships between humans and nature, humans and society, as well as humans and themselves. This thesis, based on Foucault’s theory of power and discipline and the perspective of aesthetics of existence, examines how Kya, under the multiple oppressions of family, society, and environment, achieves self-subjectivity and elevates the value of life through self-care and coexistence with nature. Additionally, Lu Shuyuan’s ecological trichotomy theory offers an insightful supplementary framework to understand Kya’s journey. By examining the three dimensions of human ecology—natural, social, and spiritual—this theory further illuminates how Kya’s practice of self-care and her relationship with nature and society are essential to her process of self-realization and transcendence.
Kya’s growth trajectory demonstrates how humans, relying on nature, can break free from patriarchal bodily oppression and the disciplinary ideologies of social class, as well as transcend anthropocentrism’s exploitation and erosion of ecology. From a marginalized “marsh girl” to a knowledgeable wetland expert, she practices self-survival by giving a voice to the marsh through her writings, thereby redefining the roles and values of women in society. Kya’s life journey illustrates that transcending discipline does not mean escaping society but instead reshaping individual value through practice. This practice is embodied in how nature’s sheltering and enlightenment endowed her with survival skills, while self-education and care enabled her to transcend isolation, ultimately growing into a strong and poetic modern woman.
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