检索结果-南通市图书馆

Stuck with the Sur-face： An Ethical Approach to Facial Disfigurement in Willa Cather＇s ＂The Profile＂

Journal of Philosophy Study 2016年第3期6卷 131-138页

作者： Gudrun M. Grabher University of Innsbruek

The human face consists of three dimensions：（1） the visible, static sur-face, （2） the mobile dimension, which communicates thoughts, emotions, and states of mind, and （3） the invisible dimension, the face aspars-pro-toto for the whole person who owns the face. In this latter sense, the human face is at the center of Emmanuel Levinas＇ theory of ethics： We encounter each other face-to-face, he argues, and it is the other＇s face that calls for my ethical response to the holiness of his/her wholeness and essence. The primary ethical imperative is：＂Thou shalt not kill.＂ When we encounter a facially disfigured person, we usually fail to respond ethically because we concentrate on the disfigurement. The second dimension, as a result of the disfigurement, is often impaired and thus incapable of communicating in such a way that we can ＂read＂ the face. With our gaze fixed on the disfigured part of the face, we lose sight of the person as a whole. Metaphorically speaking, we could even say that we ＂kill＂ the person. Levinas conceives of the other＇s face not in its plastic manifestation. But the encounter with the other does at first take place as embodiment. According to Merleau-Ponty, this encounter is by definition interactive and dialogical. In Willa Cather＇s short story ＂The Profile,＂ young beautiful Virginia marries a portrait painter after he has finished her portrait in profile. The left side of her face is severely disfigured because of a burn. Her husband is waiting impatiently for her to talk about ＂it＂ and the suffering it must cause her in order to ＂heal＂ her with his love, but she behaves as if it did not exist and even likes to dress extravagantly. In the following analysis of the short story, it will be illustrated how the husband fails to respond to his wife＇s face＇s invitation to interact with it and get in touch with the wholeness of her person that it stands for. Instead, he reduces her to the disfigurement. When he finally names the scar, he metaphoricall

关键词： the human face facial disfigurement ethics of the face (E. Levinas) phenomenology (Merleau-Ponty) lived embodiment the visual arts victor hugo

来源：

维普期刊数据库评论

在线全文

维普期刊数据库

学校读者我要写书评

暂无评论

欢迎您,

建议与咨询留下您的常用邮箱和电话号码，以便我们向您反馈解决方案和替代方法

时间限定

文献类型

馆藏选择

核心期刊

语言

文献类型

帮助

文字说明：

检索规则说明：

检索范例：

分类表

所选分类

限定检索结果

文献类型

馆藏范围

日期分布

学科分类号

主题

机构

作者

语言

在线全文

请选择保存的检索档案：

请选择收藏分类：

通借通还

欢迎您,

建议与咨询 留下您的常用邮箱和电话号码，以便我们向您反馈解决方案和替代方法

时间限定

文献类型

馆藏选择

核心期刊

语言

文献类型

帮助

文字说明：

检索规则说明：

检索范例：

分类表

所选分类

限定检索结果

文献类型

馆藏范围

日期分布

学科分类号

主题

机构

作者

语言

在线全文

请选择保存的检索档案： 新增检索档案 确定 取消

请选择收藏分类： 新增自定义分类 确定 取消

通借通还

建议与咨询留下您的常用邮箱和电话号码，以便我们向您反馈解决方案和替代方法

请选择保存的检索档案：

请选择收藏分类：