A Reading of Where Are You Going， Where Have You Been？ Based on Lacan’s Mirror Stage Theory

李銘

【Abstract】Where Are You Going， Where Have You Been？ is a famous short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. This thesis tries to give an interpretation on the protagonists self pursuit by applying Lacans Mirror Stage Theory and analyzes the causes of leading to the final tragic ending of protagonist Connie.

【Key words】Joyce Carol Oates； Mirror Stage Theory； Self Identity

1. Introduction

Joyce Carol Oates is an important and noted female American writer of modern literature. She is known as “Woman Faulkner” because of her abundant themes， varied writing techniques and skills. At the same time， she has won the American National Book Award and nominated the candidate for the Nobel Prize twice in literature. The novel tells a story about Connie， a beautiful， self-absorbed 15-year-old girl， who is at odds with her mother. Without her parents knowledge， she spends most of her evenings picking up boys at a Big Boy restaurant， and one evening captures the attention of a stranger in a gold convertible covered with cryptic writing. While her parents are away at her aunts barbecue， two men pull up in front of Connies house and call her out. She recognizes the driver， Arnold Friend， as the man from the drive-in restaurant， and is initially charmed by the smooth-talking， charismatic stranger. He has come to take her for a ride in his car with his sidekick Ellie. When she refuses to go with them， Friend becomes more forceful and threatening， saying that he will harm her family， while at the same time appealing to her vanity， saying that she is too good for them. Connie is compelled to leave with him and do what he demands of her.

2. Lacans Mirror Stage Theory

The Mirror Stage Theory， which is about the self and the formation of self-identity， can be regarded as the nucleus of Lacans theory. The “mirror”， from Lacans perspective， is not only the real one， but also the way how the others think of you and your self-reflection. On the one hand， it marked the most significant phase in the mental developing process of an infant. On the other hand， it depicted the original relationship between the ego and the image with which it identified. The Mirror Stage Theory is established from observing the behaviors of infant and it is closely related self-identification. One of features of Mirror Stage Theory is its encroachment.

3. The Analysis of Where Are You Going， Where Have You Been Based on Mirror Stage Theory？

At the beginning of the short story， Connie had a habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other peoples faces to make sure her own was alright. According to Lacans Mirror Stage Theory， the babys fascination with the mirror is the beginning of the manifestation of self-consciousness. This part of description indicates that Connie loves to look in the mirror and she has a strong sense of self-consciousness. In the process of the formation of her identity， her father always shows her indifference and her mother scolds her all the time， never gives her any instruction and tried to stop her from going out. All her family members bring a kind of encroachment of “Other”. And the result of the mirror image of encroachment is that Connies rebellion to her family and the example of sister is not acknowledged by her. Her family instruction and her own personality dont provide her with correct direction of self-pursuit. Encroachment of Other in Connies Pursuit of Self-Identity in Mirror Stage is the main reason to her tragedy.endprint

In addition， the biggest feature of Connie is that “her mind was filled with trashy daydreams”. Though Connie tries her best to present the appearance of a mature woman who is sophisticated， flirting and experienced with men， her meet with Arnold exposes that it is only a performance but not a reality. The romance and love obvious in songs she listens to and descriptions of pop culture around her are quite diverse from the reality of adult sexuality. Arnold Friend takes her by force into adulthood；however， this violent act signifies a transition in Connies growing from the abandoning of childlike fantasy to the realities of being a mature woman. The line between fantasy and reality is confused by Connie herself.

4. Conclusion

From the perspective of Lacans Mirror Stage theory， the encroachment of Other in Connies pursuit of self identity in mirror stage and her false recognition about fantasy and reality in the process of pursuing her identity result in her tragedy.

References：

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[3]喬伊斯·卡羅爾·奧茨.何去何從[M].國彬，陳新，義國，譯.愛的輪盤.北京：中國社會科學(xué)出版社，1989.

[4]李慶.空幻的自我，迷惘的靈魂-試析歐茨的短篇小說《何去何從》的現(xiàn)代主義文化寓意[J].北京航空航天大學(xué)學(xué)報，2011（11）.endprint