戴维·米恩斯的短篇小说《秘密金鱼》主要讲述了一段中年婚姻生活中的情感危机,但不可思议的是金鱼的存在却一直贯穿故事的始终。无论是假借故事中的人物之口,还是通过文本细读,读者都能发现金鱼的存在方式与女性的精神世界之间所拥有的共通之处,都能体会到金鱼作为女性象征的意义。另外,故事中孩童饲养金鱼的思想历程和行为表现则隐晦地赋予男性对待责任和爱情的不同态度以新的解读。不仅如此,通过象征手法,作者还让读者体会到两性绝对对立的痛苦后果,从而提出新时代两性之间和谐相处的建议。 David Mein’s short story “The Secret Goldfish” mainly talks about the emotional crisis in a middle-aged married life, but what is weird is that the existence of the goldfish has always run through the story. Whether it is the portrayal of characters in gossip or through textual reading, readers can find the commonalities between the existence of goldfish and the spiritual world of women, and realize the significance of goldfish as a symbol of women. In addition, the thought process and behaviors of children feeding goldfish in the story implicitly give men new interpretations of different attitudes towards responsibility and love. Not only that, through the symbolic approach, the author also allows readers to experience the painful consequences of absolute opposition between the two sexes, thus proposing a harmonious coexistence between the two sexes in the new era.