Journal of Literary Writing and Evaluation
JLWE, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2026, pp.63-72.
Print ISSN: 3078-8129; Online ISSN: 3104-5073
Journal homepage: https://www.lwejournal.com
DOI: Https://doi.org/10.64058/jlwe260107ifvbs
龙艳霞（Long Yanxia）
摘要：小说《1793年黄热病瘟疫》讲述了一个发生在1793年美国费城黄热病瘟疫期间的故事。该小说用虚构的故事展示了真实的医学历史，再现了1793年费城黄热病瘟疫的实况。故事暗示了瘟疫期间美国人民对医学的不信任，医疗环境中对黑人的隐性偏见，以及医者在医治病人的过程中所采用的家长式医疗等问题。该小说对18世纪美国不当医疗手段和卫生决策的揭露，引发笔者对突发性公共事件中的生命伦理的关注与思考。因此，本文试图从生命的选择、免疫神话的破灭和医学权威的坍塌三个方面来解读小说《1793年黄热病瘟疫》中的生命伦理，以及蕴含在小说中的应对突发性公共卫生事件的种种问题和启示。
关键词：《1793年黄热病瘟疫》；生命伦理；生命选择；免疫神话；医学权威
作者简介：龙艳霞，女，重庆人，英语语言文学博士，南方医科大学外国语学院副教授，研究方向：英美文学、叙事学、医学人文。电邮：sisulyx@163.com。
Title: An Interpretation of Fever 1793 from the View of Bioethics
Abstract: The novel Fever 1793 tells a story about the outbreak of the yellow fever in Philadelphia in 1793. This novel uses fictional stories to present the true history of medicine and recreates the actual situation of the yellow fever plague in Philadelphia in 1793. It implies issues such as the American people’s distrust of medicine during the pandemic, the implicit prejudice against black people in the medical environment, and the paternalistic medical approach adopted by doctors in treating patients. The novel’s exposure of improper medical practices and health decisions in the United States in the 18th century has sparked the author’s attention and reflection on bioethics in sudden public events. Therefore, this article attempts to interpret the bioethics in the novel Fever 1793 from three aspects: the choice of life, the collapse of the immunity myth, and the collapse of medical authority, as well as the various issues and inspirations contained in the novel regarding the response to sudden public health events.
Key words: Fever 1793; bioethics; choice of life; immune myth; medical authority
Author Biography: Long Yanxia, female, born in Chongqing, Ph.D. in English Language and Literature, Associate Professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Southern Medical University. Her research interests include British and American literature, narratology, and medical humanities.Email: sisulyx@163.com.
Received: 08 Aug 2025 / Revised: 20 Dec 2025 / Accepted: 23 Apr 2026 / Published online: 30 Apr 2026 / Print published: 30 May 2026.
