“去浪漫化”:策略还是目的?——从《匹克梅梁》解读萧伯纳的戏剧观

De-romantic Ending: a Strategy or a Goal:Pygmalion and Bernard Shaw's Dramatic Theory

英国的现代戏剧家萧伯纳的《匹克梅梁》(又译《卖花女》)是深受各国观众喜爱的剧作之一,但该剧出乎观众意料的"去浪漫化"结局也常常引发评论家的不同解读。事实上,"去浪漫化"不仅是萧伯纳拆解"佳构剧"编剧技巧的策略,也是萧伯纳反"幻觉主义剧场"艺术主张的必然选择。为了达到"去浪漫化"、实现启发和教育观众的目的,他在《匹克梅梁》中运用了"戏剧讨论"技巧,揭示了绅士阶层和平民阶层的根本矛盾。在"讨论"中,作者深刻地指出卖花女与淑女的根本差异在于不同的经济基础,而不是语言、行为的不同。通过"讨论",作者进一步强调社会阶层和现实境遇的差异意味着息金斯与伊莉莎的关系不太可能发展成恋人关系。"去浪漫化"的结局不仅是萧伯纳的策略,更是他创作的目的。

Modern British dramatist Bernard Shaw’sPygmalion is one of the most popular plays in the world. Consequently, the surprising de-romantic ending leads up to different interpretations. Actually, de-romantic ending is not only a strategy for Bernard Shaw to deconstruct the pattern of “well-made plays” but also his choice to go against “theater of illusion”. Therefore, in order to achieve the goal of de-romantic ending, and educating and inspiring the audiences, he uses the technique of “drama discussion” to expose the fundamental conflicts between gentlemen and commoners. In “discussion”, he profoundly points out that the fundamental difference lying between the flower girl and a lady is their different financial situations, rather than languages or behaviors. Thus, it is impossible to develop a romantic relationship between Prof. Higgins and Eliza as their social status and life conditions are different.