“朋友”意象与共同体形塑——《我们共同的朋友》的文化蕴涵

The Image of “Friends” and Community Building: The Cultural Implications of Our Mutual Friend

《我们共同的朋友》中连贯而密集的"朋友"意象,本应比"垃圾山"意象受到更多的重视。该"朋友"群像并非简单地要说明友情和财富孰轻孰重,而是要提请读者参与财富这一文化命题的讨论。讨论财富问题,就是讨论文化问题。在19世纪的英国,关于如何建构文化共同体的思想观念已经逐步形成,狄更斯也参与了这一建构。他的伟大之处,在于向世人传递了这样一个信息:任何共同体的建构,都不能忘记生活在"漏洞"和"边角"里的共同朋友。通过"共同的朋友"这一形象,狄更斯参与建构了批判"现金联结"的文化语境,同时提出了一条通向共同体的路径。

Greater importance should be attached to the image of ＂friends＂, which is dense and consistent throughout Our Mutual Friend, than to the image of the mounds in the same novel. The manifold ＂friends＂ as depicted by Dickens are not meant to merely show whether friendship matters more than wealth or the other way round, but to invite the reader to participate in the discussion on the cultural proposition of wealth. To discuss wealth is to discuss culture. In the 19th century England, the ideas were already taking shape over the way in which a cultural community should be built, and Charles Dickens played an active role in this process. He has managed to get across the message, which is where his greatness lies, that no real community can be built at the expense of those living in ＂holes＂ and ＂comers＂. By fashioning the image of ＂mutual friends＂ Dickens gets himself involved in building up a cultural context so as to critique ＂the cash nexus＂ and to pinpoint the access to a community.