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1、安徽大学 硕士学位论文 伊迪丝华顿纯真年代的叙事技巧和悲剧主题研究 姓名：余秋兰 申请学位级别：硕士 专业：英语语言文学 指导教师：洪增流 2010-04 iv 摘 要摘 要 伊迪丝华顿（18621937）是美国 20世纪初最优秀的作家和短篇小说家 之一。在长达 40 年的文学生涯中，她写下了许多以“老纽约”为背景的经典作 品，其中最具代表性的是获得 1921 年普利策奖的纯真年代 。在这部巅峰之 作中，华顿运用高超精湛的艺术表现手法讲述了一个爱情悲剧，揭露出 19 世纪 末老纽约上层社会陈腐刻板的道德规范。该小说一经问世，就引起评论家的广 泛关注，纷纷从不同角度解读和研究；但迄今为止，却鲜有
2、人从叙事学角度对 该小说的悲剧主题的进行解读。 故此，本论文运用经典叙事学理论，并结合其它叙事学理论对纯真年代 的叙事视角、叙事时间和人物的话语模式三个叙事要素进行深层次的文本解读， 首次探索该小说的叙事技巧和特点是如何凸显爱情悲剧这一主题的。 首先，在这部小说里，华顿采用双重叙事视角刻画了一个强大的男权社会， 其传统习俗坚不可摇，人人都得遵从。全知视角的运用，展示了一幅丰富生动 的社会风俗画。此外，考虑到女性作家身份在文学创作中的不利因素，华顿有 意设置纽兰阿切尔作为故事的主要叙述中心，并透过他的眼睛来完成大部分女 性人物刻画。男性叙述者的视角客观地展现了女性人物真实的生存状态，使读 者更加
3、深刻地感受到她们在男权统治文化下附属卑微的地位。两种视角的巧妙 结合，展现出情感外衣下的时代特征和社会现实与小说人物性格命运特征的息 息相关，为男女主人公的悲剧爱情营造了一个真实的社会大环境，凸显了小说 的悲剧意义。 其次，对该小说叙事时间的分析主要依据热奈特的叙事时间理论。该小说 主要情节发展是按照线性的叙事手法，但华顿在叙述她的故事时，根据主题的 需要，在该小说中精心安排了无时性叙事：倒叙和预叙。在时距上交叉运用省 略， 概要等手法；在叙事频率上采用场景异质性重复。这些叙事手法的综合运 用，有助于读者了解故事情节的前因后果和人物性格的变化特征，突出了小说 的悲剧主题，增强了作品的悲剧感染力
4、，使一个并不复杂的爱情故事引人入胜， v 回味无穷。 接着，该论文分析了阿切尔的话语表达方式。如前面所述，小说的男主人 阿切尔是小说的叙述意识中心，同时他又是这场三角恋情的主要当事人。因此， 研究他的语言和思想表达方式很有必要，有助于读者探索他的性格特征及其对 这场爱情悲剧的影响。其语言表达方式仍为传统的直接引语和和灵活的自由间 接引语，在人物刻画方面达到了形象逼真的叙事效果。一方面，直接引语的对 话具有生动性与直接性特征，在塑造人物性格、展开故事情节方面起着非常重 要的作用；另一方面自由间接引语是一种以第三人称从人物视角叙述人物语言、 感受、思想的话语模式，突出人物意识和心理活动。这两种话语
5、表达方式的综 合运用，展现了男主人公的感情历程和性格特征，揭示了纽兰阿切尔的性格特 征是其悲剧命运的重要因素之一。 通过以上分析，得出结论： 纯真年代中独特的叙事技巧有效地凸显了该 小说的悲剧主题面对强大的“老纽约”旧社会习俗道德及人物有限的处境和 复杂的性格，个人无法实现追寻真爱和自由的梦想。 关键词：关键词：伊迪丝华顿；纯真年代；叙事技巧；悲剧主题 ii Abstract Edith Wharton (1862-1937) is acclaimed as one of the finest novelists and short story writers in the United St
6、ates at the beginning of the 20th century. In her forty-year literary career, she has accomplished many excellent works, among which the most famous one is The Age of Innocence (1920). In this Pulitzer-winning novel about a tragic romance, Wharton succeeds in revealing the stiff and unshakable conve
7、ntions of Old New York upper-class society with exquisite style. Ever since its publication, scholars and critics have discussed it from various perspectives. However, no one has so far made a systematic study of how the narrative techniques applied in The Age of Innocence effectively serve to highl
8、ight its theme of tragedy. Therefore, this thesis, based on the theory of classic narratology and through detailed textual analysis, attempts to make an initial exploration into how the narrative techniques employed in The Age of Innocence serve to highlight its tragic theme in terms of narrative po
9、int of view, narrative time and the characters speech and thought presentation. First, in this novel, Wharton exerts double points of view to depict a patriarchal society of unshakable convictions, to which almost each one must conform. Omniscient point of view is used to present a general but vivid
10、 panorama of Old New York society. Besides, noticing the disadvantage of female writers in literary creation, Wharton intentionally establishes the male protagonist as the center of narration and characterization is mainly accomplished through his eyes. In this way, the characters limited point of v
11、iew enables the reader to go into the real world of women under this male-dominated society, who lived as the subordinate group in the patriarchal system. Both points of view contribute to a realistic social environment for the love tragedy and highlight the thematic significance of the novel. Next，
12、based on Genettes narratological theory, the use of narrative time in the novel is examined from the perspective of time order，duration and frequency. While iii narrating her story in The Age of Innocence, Wharton, in accordance with the theme of this novel, develops its plot mainly in chronological
13、 order plus anachronies: analepsis and prolepsis. In addition, the narrative devices, such as ellipsis, summary and heterogeneous repetition of scene, provide the reader with a pretty good development of the plot and characters, bringing the tragic theme of the novel into prominence. Such special ti
14、me treatment helps to intensify the aesthetic effect and, whats more, to provide the best thematic presentation, making this simple romance varied and intriguing. Furthermore, the presentation of Archers speeches and thoughts is studied. As mentioned previously, Archer is established as the center o
15、f narration and he is the main character in the love triangle between him, May and Ellen. So it is of great necessity to study the presentation of his speeches and thoughts as a way to probe his personalities and responsibilities for the love tragedy. Analysis is mainly made on the typical modes of
16、narrative speechdirect speech and free indirect speech. Direct speech helps to depict the character vividly and forcefully, while the free indirect speech shows Archers changing state of mind and complicated personality. Both modes of characters speech and thought presentation vividly characterize Newland Archer as an upright, well-learnt yet indecisive conventional young man. Trapped in this society, he could probably never have chosen a different way of life. Therefor
