责任与疆界:毛姆东方故事中的英国绅士与帝国

Responsibilities and Boundaries:The English Gentlemen and the British Empire in the Oriental Tales of William Somerset Maugham

英国作家毛姆的东方故事反映了他在大英帝国日趋衰落之时对于英国与殖民地关系的思考。在毛姆看来,大英帝国的衰落源于英国绅士传统的衰落,而具有责任感和男子气概的英国绅士则是维持大英帝国殖民统治的有效工具。毛姆在这些故事中刻画了不同类型的绅士殖民官员,诠释了他对英国绅士内涵的独特理解。与此同时,毛姆笔下的英国绅士严守种族、文化、道德上的疆界,只是他们对于疆界的坚守更注重内在精神品质而不仅仅是外在的准则和教条。

The Oriental Tales of William Somerset Maugham reveal his reflections on the relationship between the British Empire and its colonies. In the eyes of Maugham, the decline of the British Empire had resulted from the decline of the tradition of English gentleman, and for him responsible and masculine English gentlemen are the key to effective rule of the British colonies in the world. Maugham depicts in these stories various kinds of English gentlemen who demonstrate such implications of a true English gentleman. On the other hand, these gentlemen-officials adhere to the boundaries between the whites and the natives, but they adhere more to the internal and true spirit of the whites instead of the superficial rules and doctrines.