疯狂、暴力和死亡:福克纳短篇小说“干旱的九月”中隐喻的分析

Frenzy, Violence and Death: On the Ruling Metaphors in Faulkner’s ″Dry September″

福克纳短篇小说“干旱的九月”在叙事方面的一个显著特征是隐喻性的叙事语言。本文以“干旱的九月”、“流言”、“血色黄昏”、“尘土”这些代表性的隐喻为焦点,将它们放在历史、神化、宗教的语境中,从语义、语用、审美等方面研究其内涵与作用。笔者认为,“干旱的九月”是“秋天”的具象,隐含着悲剧的原型意象;“流言”是《圣经》中所昭示的罪孽;“血色黄昏”预示着人们酒神般暴虐与疯狂,而“尘土”则象征着“罪与罚”及“死亡”。这些隐喻在语义上相互交叉,相互关联,紧密围绕着“疯狂、暴力、死亡”的主题,形成了巨大的语义网络,使主题表现更加深刻,富有内涵。从审美功能来看,这些隐喻简洁凝练、言简意赅,富有哲理,同时又委婉、生动,富有诗意。

This paper tries to decode the ruling metaphors, namely ＂the dry September＂, ＂rumor＂, ＂bloody twilight＂, and ＂dust＂, which William Faulkner self-consciously employs in ＂Dry September＂ through contextual, semantic, pragmatic and aesthetic analyses, so as to reveal their meanings and functions in the text. Through these detailed studies, the author of this paper draws a conclusion that ＂dry September＂ has a strong affinity with Fry＇ s tragic archetype of ＂autumn＂, whilst ＂bloody twilight＂ implies the Dionysian frenzy; ＂rumor＂ is related to the commandment of ＂ false report＂ in the Bible whereas ＂dust＂ indicates ＂the sin of man and the punishment of God＂ resuited in ＂death＂. These metaphors, built around the tragic theme, are closely interrelated to each other and form a vast semantic web interwoven with historical, social, cultural significance. They are laconic, philosophical and poetic, making the tragedy even more tragic and evoking sorrow and pity from readers.