《时时刻刻》中的“房间”意象

"Room" in Michael Cunningham's The Hours

在美国当代作家迈克尔·坎宁安的小说《时时刻刻》中,"房间"意象具有明显的悖论性:它既可以是现实中监禁的牢笼,又可以是释放自我的自由之所。小说借助"房间"这样一个共通意象将三位处于不同时空的女性连接起来。她们对理想中"房间"的探求其实就是对自我存在和自我实现的追寻。面对悖论式的生存状况,无论是选择自杀、逃离还是享受当下,皆出于人们对生活无尽的信仰和热爱。同时这三种选择也表现出宏观上的进步性,反映出现代人在追寻生命意义的道路上对个人主体价值的强调,以及人们以乐观积极的姿态而实现的对当下社会的超越。

＂Room＂ as a metaphor holds paradoxical meanings in The Hours written by contemporary American writer Michael Cunningham.On the one hand,it shackles people’s thought and behavior in real life,while offers them enough freedom for relief.In the novel,the author uses this common image to connect these three women of different time and spaces.Their search for the ideal rooms is in fact the pursuit of self-existence and self-fulfillment.Facing a paradoxical condition,no matter it is to choose to commit suicide,to escape or to enjoy life as what it is,people always hold their love and faith for life.Moreover,the three choices form a progressing relation,reflecting people’s emphasis on personal values while pursuing the meaning of life and the surpassing of current existence with positive attitude in modern society.