笛福的幽灵叙事和神圣启示

Defoe’s Apparition Narrative and Divine Revelation

英国作家笛福的小说创作符合18世纪英国的理性氛围,被认为是一种经验主义书写。~①但其小说中除了经验书写之外,还存在着一种特殊的"幽灵叙事"(apparition narrative)。麦基恩(Michael McKeon)在《英国小说的起源,1600-1740》(The Origins of the English Novel)中讨论了17、18世纪的幽灵叙事,他以此术语笼统地指称涉及幽灵的超自然事件的书写.

By examining the trend of empiricism in 18th century Britain and Defoe’s theory of apparitions,this paper intends to interpret Defoe’s novels as a case of empirical pseudomorphosis.To Defoe,God and departed souls can not(re)appear among humans,and so apparitions are mostly the after-images of persons raised in the memory of living witnesses by angels or good spirits whose task is to deliver messages to people on earth.This theory of apparitions forms the basis for Defoe’s apparition narratives.He conceals the connotations of apparition narratives in an elevated empirical tone,indicating that fiction is to reveal divine revelation circuitously.This reflects the efforts of Christian writers to mediate between general revelation and special revelation and to seek a new way of defending Christianity in an age of reason.