Abstract:In Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South (1855), male protagonist John Thornton, a supposed master of industry, is truly industry’s victimized object. Critics have covered the Victorian drive for noble self-sacrifice, particularly in female characters, but this article claims that Gaskell critiques a masochistic work ethic that arises out of the mixture of industrialism with Protestantism and produces a bourgeois masculinity so masochistic it is nearly suicidal. Gaskell’s novel unmasks this deceptively simple system of “self-denial,” which promises working men reciprocity for their deferred pleasure but fails to deliver. Denial of the body to perfect the soul is a system that works well enough for the rich, Gaskell shows, since the rich body is neither starving nor healthily reproductive. Self-denial, then, becomes a position of privilege rather than of self-improvement. Ultimately, Gaskell rejects the unfeeling masochism of this industrial code of masculinity in favor of the pains of love and vulnerability.

中文翻译：

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“生到远，死到近”：南北的受虐狂、自杀和阳刚之气

摘要：在伊丽莎白·盖斯凯尔的《北与南》（1855）中，男主人公约翰·桑顿（John Thornton），被认为是工业大师，实则是工业的受害对象。批评家们报道了维多利亚时代的高尚自我牺牲精神，尤其是女性角色，但这篇文章声称，加斯凯尔批评了一种受虐狂的职业道德，这种职业道德源于工业主义与新教的混合，并产生了一种资产阶级的男子气概，受虐狂几乎是自杀。加斯凯尔的小说揭露了这种看似简单的“自我否定”系统，它承诺工人对他们延迟的快乐给予互惠，但未能兑现。加斯凯尔表示，拒绝身体来完善灵魂是一种对富人来说足够有效的系统，因为富人既不会挨饿，也不会健康繁殖。那么自我否定，成为一种特权地位，而不是自我提升的地位。最终，加斯凯尔拒绝了这种工业男性气质准则的无情自虐，转而支持爱和脆弱的痛苦。