老纽约、规训、失败的逃离——解读《纯真年代》所蕴含的时代主题

美国女作家伊迪丝
华顿在小说《纯真年代》中深刻表达了老纽约规训之下“失败的逃离” 的时代主题, 即面对环境的制约力量, 个人企图逃脱却注定失败。小说展现了19 世纪70 年代纽约上流社会强调规则和体面, 崇尚表象上的愉悦而残酷压制个人真实情感的虚伪特质。结合19 世纪老纽约的时代背景与社会现实, 解读小说所蕴含的规训、体面、逃离等时代主题, 剖析处于时代变迁中的贵族习俗规范与个人情感追求之间的对抗, 以及这种破坏性对抗所导致的徒劳的逃离悲剧。

Old New York, Discipline, Failed Escape: A Thematic Interpretation of The Age of Innocence

In her novel The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton explores the theme of “failed escape” under discipline, i.e., individual’s attempt to escape, in confrontation with the confining powers of the environment, is doomed to failure. The novel reveals the hypocritical characteristics of the upper-class society of New York in the 1870s, which emphasized rules and decency, valuing superficial pleasantness while brutally suppressing the true affections of individuals. The themes of the times contained in the novel such as discipline, decency and escape are interpreted in light of the historical background and social reality of Old New York in the 19th century, with an insight into the conflicts between the aristocratic conventions and the emotional pursuit of the individuals in a changing time, as well as the tragedy of the futile escape as a result of such destructive confrontation.