摘 要

朱迪·皮考特是美国当代著名的畅销小说作家，其作品笔触细腻，善于捕捉生活细节，描述人与人之间，人与社会之间的伦理冲突。《姐姐的守护者》是其代表作，讲述了美国一个普通中产阶级家庭的伦理困境。书中的主人公安娜，其出生是为了治疗患有急性早幼粒细胞血病的姐姐凯特。凯特成长中的数次发病，使得安娜不得不随时待命为姐姐捐献骨髓，细胞等物。在母亲沙拉希望安娜捐献其一颗肾拯救器官衰竭的凯特时，安娜把母亲告上法庭要求夺回医疗决定权。

小说中这家人困囿于绝望之境13年之久，尤其是母亲莎拉和她的两个女儿凯特和安娜，长期同疾病斗争，无望的治疗使他们看不到亲爱家人的生命的希望，对各自的生活亦无热情与激情，爱在沉默中难宣于口终成伤害。而一场医疗诉讼案则让这个矛盾激发，让他们重新认识彼此，从这场伦理困境中逃脱解救出来。

本论文聚焦小说中母女三人的伦理困境以及她们摆脱困难的种种努力。该论文分为四个部分。第一个部分介绍了作者, 作品《姐姐的守护者》和相关文献综述；第二部分分析了费兹杰罗家中母女三人分别面对的伦理困境；第三部分阐述了他们如何从这困境中拯救自己；第四部分则对该篇论文进行了总结，反思了生命科技对人类伦理道德体系的冲击。

关键词：姐姐的守护者；伦理困境；救赎

Abstract

Jodi Picoult is one of the American best-selling novelists. She is good at catching every detail in life. And her most works are with the motifs about the interpersonal ethical dilemmas or predicaments between human and society. My Sister’s Keeper is her representative work, depicting ethical dilemma in an ordinary American middle-class family. The leading character Anna was born to save her older sister Kate from her illness, acute promyelocytic leukemia. And Anna has to donate marrows or cells to tackle her sister’s repeated attacks. When the mother Sara hopes Anna to donate one of her kidneys to save Kate, Anna decides to sue her mother for medical emancipation.

This family has been trapped in the ethical dilemma for 13 years，especially the mother Sara and her two daughters Kate and Anna. The long-term fighting and treatment for the disease make them lose the hope for Kate’s rehabilitation and enthusiasm for life. The silent love also gradually turns into harm for each one. However, a lawsuit sharpens the potential contradictions between mothers and daughters, gives them the chance to understand each other again and helps them free from the ethical predicaments.

This paper attempts a detailed analysis of ethical dilemma of three female characters. The paper is divided into four parts. The first part introduces the life of Jodi Picoult, her representative work My Sister’s Keeper and the literature review of this novel. In the second part, it analyzes the ethical dilemmas of the three main characters. In the third part, it elucidates their salvation from the ethical dilemmas. In the four part, it makes a conclusion of this paper and has a reflection of the impacts and challenges on ethics the biological science and technology has brought.

Key Words: My Sister’s Keeper; ethical conflicts; salvation

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Jodi Picoult and My Sister’s Keeper 1

1.2 Literature Review 2

2 Ethical Dilemmas in Family Relationship 4

2.1 Sara’s Unbalanced Love 4

2.1.1 Sara’s Unbalanced Love for Anna 4

2.1.2 Sara’s Unbalanced Love for Kate 5

2.2 Anna’s Deprived Right 7

2.2.1 Sara as a Despoiler 7

2.2.2 Kate as a Despoiler 8

2.3 Kate’s Painful Reception 9

2.3.1 Sara as a Giver 10

2.3.2 Anna as a Giver 11

3 Salvation from Family Ethical Conflicts 12

3.1 Salvation of Sara 12