瘟疫书写的终极关怀——以南非英语小说《瘟疫之墙》为中心

Ultimate Concern of Plague Writing ——A Case Study of the South African English Novel The Wall of the Plague

南非作家安德烈·布林克的小说《瘟疫之墙》有着鲜明的政治诉求,作品从欧洲瘟疫书写传统中汲取灵感,批判了当时南非的种族隔离制度。小说以瘟疫为寓言,通过探讨中世纪时期人类面对黑死病的种种行为,映照出当时南非社会存在的诸多问题。作者试图借助人们面对"瘟疫"所产生的共同痛苦和创伤,在南非社会塑造了一个想象的共同体,以期对即将到来的民族和解有所裨益。白人作家力图通过充满人道主义关怀的"黑色书写"为受压迫的黑人群体发声,从而消弭长期以来的偏见和歧视,而这种对共同体的认同及守望相助的信任在全球大流行病肆虐的今天有着重要的启发意义。

South African writer AndréBrink’s novel The Wall of the Plague has a strong political appeal.Drawing inspirations from the traditional plague writing in Europe,the novel criticizes the apartheid in South Africa.It takes the plague as an allegory and reflects many social problems in South African by studying various human behaviors in the face of the Black Death in the Middle Ages.The author tries to create an imaginary community in South African with the help of people’s common pain and trauma caused by the"plague",hoping to benefit the coming national reconciliation.As a white writer,he speaks for the oppressed black community through the kind of writing full of humanitarian care so as to eliminate the long-standing prejudice and discrimination.During today’s pandemic,this belief in community and the trust in mutual assistance are of great significance.