摘要
简·奥斯丁的《劝导》中“充满了巧合、意外和错过”,论者多认为这种非同寻常的机运书写反映了转型中的英国社会所面临的道德困境,而奥斯丁意图通过诉诸个体化的激情来走出这一困境。这种对《劝导》的激进解读迎合了20世纪以来的政治正确,但其所依赖的前提实际上无法在文本中得到证明。细读表明,《劝导》中的机运书写一方面暗示了安妮不听“劝导”的可能生活,从而隐晦地表达了作者对审慎、节制的生活方式的赞许,另一方面也构成了作者对温特沃思进行古典教育的主要手段。就对待机运的态度而言,温特沃思是一个马基雅维利式的“现代人”,这种“现代性”潜藏着堕落的风险。奥斯丁通过让温特沃思在机运面前逐渐失去对生活的控制,最终使他意识到了自己所负的现代性原罪。
Austen's Persuasion is “filled with chance, occasions, accidents and missed opportunities”, and commentators have largely assumed that this emphasis on fortune reflects the ethical challenges of a society in transition. Austen aims to overcome these challenges by appealing to individualized passions. This radical reading of Persuasion caters to the political correctness of the 20th century, but it rests on premises that cannot be justified in the text. A reading between the lines suggests that the writing of fortune in Persuasion hints at the possible life of Anne if she does not listen to the persuasion, thus implicitly portraying the author's endorsement of a prudent and moderate lifestyle. However, it also constitutes the principal means of classical education for Wentworth. In his attitude to fortune, Wentworth is a Machiavellian “modern man”, a “modernity” that carries with it the risk of corruption. By making Wentworth gradually lose control of his life in the face of fortune, Austen ultimately prompts him to recognize the original sin of modernity for which he is accountable.
出处
《国外文学》
北大核心
2023年第4期94-103,共10页
Foreign Literatures
