《波士顿人》和波士顿——亨利·詹姆斯的现实主义突围

Surpassing Realism: Henry James' s The Bostonians

《波士顿人》常被评论家视为亨利·詹姆斯的失败之作。小说以现实主义手法再现了作为"变革之城"的波士顿和那里激进的女性主义者。詹姆斯一改往常做法,以"环境"取代传统现实主义的"背景",同时舍弃了他所擅长的"意识中心",让视角在两位主人公之间游移不定。本文认为《波士顿人》是他试图超越现实主义藩篱、实现其艺术理想的一次尝试,这种尝试在小说美学的意义上或许得失参半,却蕴含了作者对女性主义运动复杂性的深刻洞见。

The Bostonians is often considered as a failed work of Henry James. The novel,in its typical realistic details,represents 'the city of reform'Boston and its radical feminists. Departing from his old ways,James substitutes the traditional realistic 'setting ' with 'milieu ',abandons his favorite 'center of consciousness',and has the point of view bounce back and forth between the two protagonists. These new features indicate James 's realization of the limitations of realism and his ambivalence towards feminism. This article argues that The Bostonians represents James' s deliberate attempt to move beyond realism and realize his artistic ideal. Aesthetically,its goal may be half lost; but it still shows James' s insights into the complexity of the Women's Movement.