一种小说样式的思考——论默多克的小说艺术观

A Novelistic Meditation:On Iris Murdoch's View on the Art of Novel

在默多克的小说信念和小说实践之间存在难以调和的矛盾,这导致评论界对她的小说提出最严厉的批评。这种矛盾其实对评论者和读者都提出了一种挑战。它与默多克关于小说艺术的不完美性和非个人化特点的观点有关,反映出作者关于艺术形式和生活的偶合无序之间关系的"一种小说样式的思考"。艺术家只有采用一种不完美的艺术形式才能表现出人类生活中偶合无序的本质,他必须为了真实消除自己的个性,不给自我留下空间。对不太可能的事件,或者对不可能发生但却可信的事件,艺术家和艺术品的消费者应采取如同对待生活一般的宽容态度。这是一些道德纪律。

The difficulty to reconcile Murdoch＇ s theoretical beliefs with her practice as a novelist leads to the most frequent-voiced objections to her novels. In fact, the conflict gives a challenge to both critics and readers. It is related to Murdoch＇ s view on the imperfect and impersonal features of art, and reflects her novelistic meditation on the question of ＂form versus contingency. ＂ Only through an imperfect artistic form can the artist reveal the contingent nature of human life. The artist must destroy his personality for the Reality, and leave no room for his own egoism. The artist and art-consumer should have a life-like tolerance of the unlikely or the probable impossible. And this is a moral discipline.