薇拉·凯瑟《尖枞树之乡》评价之流变考

On the Transformation of Willa Cather's Critical Opinion on The Country of the Pointed Firs

凯瑟倒置了朱厄特有关速描和小说的看法,把速描的地位抬高到小说之上,并以此为依据认为朱厄特的速描作品《尖枞树之乡》与《红字》以及《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》一样是可能具有长久生命力的作品。长久以来,研究者不仅没有对凯瑟的观点提出质疑,而且还误解了凯瑟的原意,并忽视了该评价与商业操作之间的关系,没有注意到凯瑟最终因个人观念的变化和时世变迁而放弃了当初她对《尖枞树之乡》的评价。

Willa Cather regards Sarah Orne Jewett＇s sketches as a higher order of literary creation than that of short stories and novels, thereby reversing Jewett＇s own attitude towards these genres. Based on this, Cather claims that Jewett＇s The Country of the Pointed Firs is possibly an American work of long life like The Scarlet Letter and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. So far, Cather＇s argument has never been questioned by critics. In fact, critics frequently misinterpret Cather＇s argument. Besides, not only have critics failed to detect the commercial circumstances of Cather＇s appraisal, they have also somehow ignored the fact that, due to changes in personal attitude and historical context, Cather eventually gave up that appraisal.