《优雅少年》中人性之“恶”的解读

An Interpretation of the "Evil" in Humanity in The Gentle Boy

纳撒尼尔.霍桑乃19世纪美国文坛最重要的小说家之一。他的短篇小说集《故事重述》中广为人知的一个主题是对于人性之"恶"的解读。在《优雅少年》中,"恶"有两层含义:其一,它代表那个时代狂热宗教激情驱使下的宗教迫害或是宗教狂热;其二,它代表人性固有的弱点。霍桑认为,无论个人还是群体,只有掌握了关于黑暗的知识,即了解了自身的弱点,才能使自身趋于完善。这则故事不仅鞭笞了殖民地早期清教对人思想的禁锢,而且还给19世纪的美国盲目自信的弊病敲响了警钟。

A controlling theme in Nathaniel Hawthorn＇ s collection, Twice-told Tales, is his interpretation of the ＂evil＂ in humanity. In The Gentle Boy, the meaning of ＂evil＂ is twofold. On one hand, it means religious persecution and insanity in early colonial period. On the other hand, it is an innate weakness in human nature. This paper aims to reveal that, through experiences of Tobias and Catherine, the knowledge of darkness or the knowledge of one＇s weakness is indispensible for any individual or group to get moral improvement and even perfection. From this perspective, the story condemns the restrictions that Puritanism used to put on human mind in the colonial period. In addition, Hawthorn, through the story, also warns nineteenth-century America of its blind arrogance.