《威兰》的矛盾意识及布朗对美国小说的贡献

Contradictory Ideologies in Wieland and Brown's Contributions to the American Novel

在美国小说史上,查尔斯.布罗可登.布朗是一个里程碑式的人物,他力图使美国小说摆脱简单说教的模式,给予小说更开阔的释义空间。他的小说深深地根植于美国文化的土壤之中,主题思想含蓄、开放,较多地关照个体人物的命运与矛盾的内心世界,作品极富自由想象的张力。这一特征在《威兰》一书中得以充分展现。小说《威兰》中的人物都有难以确定的自我,充满矛盾,对峙的思想经常会同时左右他们的行为,指令他们向相反的方向行进,使他们无休无止地处于一种犹疑不定的精神状态之中。威兰的个性冲突最具有戏剧性,也最能反映政治潜意识的社会成因。

Charles Broekden Brown＇ s novels are landmark achievements in the history of the American novel. He strives to free the American novel from the didactic tradition and provide it with more space of interpretation. Deeply rooted in American culture, Brown＇ s novels are rich in imaginative power, open with multiple implied themes and more concerned with the fate of individual characters. These characteristics are well embodied in his first important novel Wieland, whose characters suffer from ontological uncertainties. They are in a constant struggle with themselves and often fail to control their own actions. Of all the major characters, Theodore Wieland experiences ideological conflicts most severely, because, consciously or unconsciously, he is involved in a complex network of different social and political beliefs.