出刊年月/Date of Publishing

1992.09

所屬卷期/Vol. & No.   第22卷第3期 Vol. 22, No. 3

類型/Type                 研究論文 Research Article

篇名/Title
Performative Realism: Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!
踐行寫實主義：福克納的《押沙龍，我的兒啊！》

作者/Author
米樂 J. Hillis Miller

頁碼/Pagination
pp. 1-21

摘要
自從柏拉圖以降，「模擬」("mimesis") 或語言與現實的關係等問題，一直是西方世界思考敍事文類的主要課題。十九世紀以來，這些問題的爭論則集中在小說裡的寫實主義。這些爭論中的關鍵字眼是模擬丶倣效 (imitation)丶呈現／再現(representation)丶複製 (reproduction)丶寫實主義 (realism)丶指渉 (reference)。這些字眼各自表達寫實主義的矛盾。一方面，寫實故事運用語言，重複現實中發生過的事。另一方面，寫實的故事增補現實，即使只是跟現實有些不同。避免這些矛盾的方法，乃是體認小說具有踐行及認知功能，因爲小說不僅提供知識，也促成某種影響。福克納 (William Faulkner) 的《押沙龍，我的兒啊！》(Absalom, Absalom!) 是探索這些間題的佳作。它不僅是一本偉大的現代「寫實」小說，而且有許多人物兼充敍述者。小說中一再提出敍述功能的問題。許多段落用象嗆將敍述功能的問題當作主題。就某種角度而言，這一切表示敍述的失敗。例如，敍述者無法拼湊化學公式的成分，以取得原先預測的反應之意象。《押沙龍，我的兒啊！》是一部探討敍述失敗的佳構。昆廷 (Quentin) 和史瑞夫 (Shreve) 試圖把前一代 (薩特鵬 [Sutpen]丶亨利 [Henry]丶伯恩 [Bon]丶裘蒂絲 [Judith] 等) 的種種細節連結成前後一致的故事，卻沒有成功。昆廷和史瑞夫雖然費力說故事，對其本身卻仍有負面的影響。由此可見，該小說警告讀者：我們在閱讀《押沙龍，我的兒啊！》之際，可能也會受到影響，但未必是良性的。

Abstract
Since Plato’s time, “mimesis” or the relationship between language and reality continues to be a major topic of discussion in the narrative language of Western thought. Since the nineteenth century, the discussions surrounding narrative have concentrated on realism in fiction. The crux of these discussions revolved around mimesis, imitation, representation, reproduction, realism and reference. These words all express the contradiction of realism. On one hand, realist stories utilize language to duplicate real events, while on the other, realist stories augment real events, thus making them different from reality. A way to avoid these contradictions is by recognizing the performative and cognitive function of the novel, as the novel not only provides knowledge, but also has some kind of influence over one’s actions. Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! is a masterpiece that highlights these kinds of questions. It is a great modern “realist” novel, and has many concurrent narrators. In the novel, the problems surrounding narration recur throughout the text. Many passages contain parables which concern the functions of narration itself. From this angle, the failure of narration is thus revealed. For example, the narrators have no way of piecing together the component parts of the chemical formula to find out the originally predicted reaction. Absalom, Absalom! is partly a novel about the failure of narration. While this force in narration makes the reader hesitate before reading, it is still necessary however to read Absalom, Absalom! in order to more fully understand the pitfalls of narration.

關鍵字/Key Word
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DOI
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學門分類/Subject
文學 Literature