叙事的“可信谎言”——对《奥德赛》中珀涅罗珀被求婚的质疑和阐释

Narrative "Plausible Lie"——A Query and Interpretation to the Courtship of Penelope in the Odyssey

《奥德赛》中珀涅罗珀被求婚的故事是一场"美丽的谎言",然而又是一场叙事的"可信谎言"。该故事中巧妙地掩盖了"大妻少夫"的奇怪婚配,这在当时的社会历史和文化习俗条件下是不太可能发生的事。同时,在叙事中又显示了"一妇众求"的求婚活动,这在当时的社会历史和文化习俗条件下又是很可能发生的事。对这样矛盾性难题的阐释,结合亚里士多德的史诗叙事理论,考察叙事真实与历史真实的辩证关系,却可作出合情合理的艺术阐释。故此,尽管谎言对历史可能表现为虚假之事,然而对叙事却可表现为可信之事。

The story of the courtship of Penelope in the Odyssey is a fair lie,but the narration of the courtship is a plausible narrative.In the story an elder woman and a younger man＇s marriage is artfully concealed and this unusual marriage is not likely to happen on the social,historical,cultural and customary condition in ancient Greece.However,in the narration a woman proposed to by many men is likely to happen on the social,historical,cultural and customary condition in ancient Greece.In order to find a solution to this paradox,the author uses Aristotle＇s epic narrative theory and reviews the dialectical relation between narrative truth and historical truth,thus works out a reasonable artistic interpretation.Hence the lie is likely a false event in history while it＇s a plausible event in narration.