《紫色》中的书信体叙事策略

The Epistolary Form of The Color Purple

美国著名黑人女作家艾丽斯.沃克的《紫色》(The Color Purple)的成功与它使用的在18世纪流行于欧洲的书信体这一叙事策略是密不可分的。书信体在《紫色》中的应用可以从以下两个方面进行分析:一方面,沃克将书信体与传统的黑人奴隶叙事相结合,在保存奴隶叙事特征的基础上颠覆了传统意义上的奴隶叙事。这种书信体叙事手法克服了传统奴隶叙事中作者声音和道德判断过于明显的缺陷。另一方面,书信体叙事策略与内容、主题达到了完美的结合。通过书信方式,沃克赋予女性,尤其是一位受尽压迫摧残的黑人女孩以声音。西丽的成长过程也在她写信过程中得到了充分的表现。同时,作为一部典型的女性主义作品,《紫色》的女性主义特征也在书信体中得到了极大的发挥。一封封信件形成一本完整的书信体小说的过程,可以说是西丽的创造过程和获得完整自我的过程。

The Color Purple,which has won Walker the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award, is an important work in Afro-American Literature and American Literature. Besides its theme,a large part of this novel＇s significance lies in Walker＇s adaptation of the epistolary form. By using the epistolary narrative strategy, Walker disperses her own voice from the text and eliminates the didactic nature of the traditional Slave Narrative, the once popular genre in Afro-American literature. On the other hand,the epistolary narrative is a perfect means to correspond with the female voice. Celie＇s growth can be seen from the epistolary form. With the shift of addressees, her change in the sentences in her letters and her ability to control others＇ voices,Celie grows from a ＂slave＂ to an independent and dignified woman. At the same time, the adaptation of the epistolary form expresses Walker＇s Womanist thought. As a symbol of the Womanist co-operation and creativity, quilt-making plays a significant role in Walker＇s works. The epistolary form, in which the detached letters are pieced into a whole novel just like discarded fragments are woven into a quilt, is fairly suitable to illustrate Celie＇ creativity and wholeness in her life.