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本文的基本假设是叙事本身并非线性的或者碎裂的,线性与碎片性都是阐释的结果。读者若对一致性感兴趣,便倾向于在每一种叙述中找到线性,若是乐见对于碎裂的人类境况的表征,则几乎无法看到线性。这一假设可由四个例证论述。第一个例证是明显属于线性叙事的小说《三个火枪手》。细读其《序言》可知,该文本目的在于突显其虚构性,一直调用叙事聚焦,颠覆角色的身份,动摇年代顺序,对线性提出挑战。第二个例证则是匈牙利1930年代的冒险小说,从叙述时间处理的角度看,这种文类中通常会很简单,但该小说则不然。突兀的叙述只在读者的回想中才才变成线性的,与主角那侦探似的故事创造者一样。因此,传统认为的线性叙述文类在后现代文学熏陶下的读者看来,有可能是碎裂的;这一点与此文例举的另外两部非常复杂老道的叙事恰成对照。这两部碎片化的后殖民叙事作品是拉什迪的《小丑沙利马》(2005年)以及俄罗斯女作家乌利茨卡娅的《美狄亚和她的孩子们》(2005年)。尽管这两部小说的碎片化和多视角叙事技巧令人惊叹,其基于时间发展而成的家族故事主线仍然显而易见。真正的线性叙事也许从未存在过,而甚至是极具艺术技巧的碎片化叙述依然可以读成线性的。
The basic assumption of this article is that the narrative itself is not linear or fragmented, and both linearity and fragmentation are the result of interpretation. If readers are interested in coherence, they tend to find linearity in each of the narratives, and if Leighton characterizes the fractured human condition, it is almost impossible to see linearity. This assumption can be discussed by four examples. The first example is the novel “Three Musketeers”, which is obviously a linear narrative. A closer look at its “Preface” reveals that the purpose of the text is to highlight its fictionality, to invoke narrative focus, to reverse the identity of characters, to destabilize the chronological order, and to challenge linearity. The second example is the Hungarian adventure novel of the 1930s, which is usually simple from the point of view of the narrative time, but not the novel. Obscure narratives become linear only in the reader’s mindset, just as the detective-like story creator in the protagonist. Therefore, it is likely that the traditional linear narratives, which are influenced by postmodern literature, may be disintegrated, as opposed to the other two very complex and sophisticated narratives exemplified in this article. The two fragmented postcolonial narratives are Rushdie’s “Clown Shalimar” (2005) and “The Medea and her children” (2005) by the Russian writer Ulitzkaya. Although the fictional and multi-perspective narrative techniques of these two novels are amazing, their main line of family story based on time is still evident. True linear narratives may never have existed, and even fragmented narratives of great artistic skill can still be read as linear.