《家變》這部小說，在形式斷裂的結構上，一般讀者或文評家往往從父子衝突的主題，來認定這部小說是在探討現代知識青年與傳統逐漸斷裂的過程。然而在形式斷裂的結構上卻有一條隱含的倫理主軸，支配整個敘事的進行。本文即試圖結合拉岡精神分析與當代歷史脈絡的評論觀點，剖析作家「家變」企圖與實際敘述操作所形成的矛盾與衝突，以及其背後所指涉的文化心靈與時代脈動。本文認為《家變》所呈現的正是主角范曄與父親、社會的位置與關係，從背離到趨歸倫理文化的精神成長史。因此若僅將《家變》定位為弑父叛家小說，或許將無法深刻體會到文本所呈現的六七十年代西化青年社會意識與自我辯證的時代脈動與多元聲音，而這正也是《家變》作為準確抓住時代脈動的代表性文本意義所在。

The theme of the novel Chia Pien, by Wang Wen-Hsing seems to be about the disconnection of traditional ideas and modern ideas. Both general readers and literary commentators tend to inscribe from the conflict between father and son the interpretation of the novel as a discussion of modern intellectualism's gradual break with tradition. In contrast, I posit that there is an implied ethic meaning which dominates the entire narrative. To illustrate this interpretation, I combine the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Marie-Emile Lacan with a contemporary historical view, in order to analyze the conflict between the author's attempt to show the metamorphosis of a family within the narrative in the novel which depicts the family's cultural soul and the impact of historical changes on this same family.