摘 要

《啊，拓荒者！》是美国女作家薇拉·凯瑟一部拓荒题材的小说。小说的女主人公亚历山德拉·伯格森在极端艰苦的境况下，不他人的反对，坚守在荒原之上， 凭着一腔对土地的热爱之情，艰苦奋斗，运用勤劳和智慧探索大自然，最后将不毛的荒原改造成物产丰饶的良田。亚历山德拉通过自我探索大自然，找到了一条顺应大自然规律的发展道路。小说呈现了一幅人与自然和谐共处的画面。从上世纪 70 年代起，美国学术界兴起了生态批评的潮流，旨在重新思考人与自然的关系问题。本文从生态批评的视角解读小说，通过对小说人物对荒地探索利用的方式以及人与自然之间的相互影响进行分析，揭示薇拉·凯瑟构造的“中间风景”—

—现代化发展的物质需求和自然可持续发展和谐共存的状态，进而唤醒人们的生态意识和责任感，促使他们在不断实现社会进步发展的同时，尊重和保护自然， 顺应自然发展规律。

关键词：中间风景；人类；自然

Abstract

O Pioneers!, written by American female writer Willa Cather, is a pioneer novel. Although under extremely terrible natural conditions, the heroine Alexandra Bergson, with her strong passion for land, struggles with difficulties arduously, explores the nature actively, and finally transforms barren land into fertile farmland. Alexandra finds a path of development that conforms to the laws of nature with her insistence and efforts. This novel presents an ideal picture where human lives in harmony with nature. In the 1970s, ecocriticism, which aimed to reflect the relationship between human and nature, emerged in American academic world. From the perspective of ecological criticism, this thesis tries to reveal the harmonious coexistence between the material demand of modernization and the sustainable development of nature, created by Willa Cather in this novel. Furthermore, this thesis intends to wake up people's ecological awareness and social responsibility. Humans must respect the law of nature while realizing the progress of social development.

Key words: Middle landscape, Human, Nature

Content

1. Introduction １
2. Demonstration ２
   1. The pursuit of material life ２
      1. The stereotypes of land ３
      2. A strong desire for material interests ４
   2. The image of pastoral ideal ５
      1. The residence of Ivar ５
      2. The personal belief of Ivar ７
      3. The loss of land ７

2.3 Middle landscape: the coexistence of civilization progress and pastoral ideal.８ 2.3.1 The passion for land and nature ８

2.3.2 The respect for life ９

1. Conclusion １０

Middle Landscape -- The Analysis of Ecological Consciousness in O Pioneers!

Introduction

Willa Cather (1873-1947), is an American female writer, famous for her novels about frontier life, including O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Antonia. These novels are inspired by the memories of her early years on Nebraska prairie. In O Pioneers!, the main character Alexandra Bergson inherits her father’s farmland when John Bergson passes away. When the farmers on the prairie are faced with terrible natural conditions, many other people give up and leave the prairie. However, Alexandra chooses to stay and devotes her life to the farmland. The description of nature in this novel is delectable and elegant, which shows readers a beautiful picture of harmonious coexistence between human and nature.

Due to the harmonious relationship between human and nature in O Pioneers!, many scholars have been attracted to do some research about the novel from ecocritical perspective. Foreign scholars have conducted considerable research. For Instance, in the thesis Unsettling Nature at Frontier: Nature, Narrative, and Female Empowerment in Willa Cather’s O Pioneers! and Mourning Dove’s “Cogewea, the Half-blood,” Erin E. Hendel thinks the novel shows an ecological awareness that “it demands an ethic of environmental stewardship as criteria for success in the Nebraska farmlands” (35). In other words, Alexandra can become successful because she “respects the integrity of landscape” (36). Additionally, scholar Matthew J. C. Cella analyzes the “ambivalent pastoralism” of Willa Cather through two characters Alexandra Bergson and Ivar in his article Willa Cather’s Ambivalent Pastoralism Revisited, Disability and Environmental Ethics in O Pioneers!, and concludes that Alexandra is “a progressive-minded and ecocentric protagonist” (53-57). What’s more, Karen E. Ramirez discusses the ecological consciousness from the aspect of space and place in the article “Narrative Mappings of the Land as Space and Place in Willa Cather’s O Pioneers!.” He comes to a conclusion that “the utilitarian form of mapping reflects a nationalistic spatial