颠覆“美国神话”:论《肯塔基组曲》中的暴力叙事

Demolishing the American Myth: Violence in The Kentucky Cycle

罗伯特·申堪的代表作《肯塔基组曲》1992年获得普利策戏剧奖,这组系列剧由9个短剧组成,讲述了肯塔基州东部坎伯兰高原上两大家族间两百多年的争斗与纠葛,构成了一部气势恢宏的家族史诗剧。本文以"暴力叙事"为切入点,通过分析这部长剧中罗文家族的恩怨和情感纠葛,揭橥隐匿于美国神话背后的种族、家庭、性别和生态等方面时隐时现的暴力问题,从而颠覆以"美国梦"、清教信仰和生态文明为代表的神圣的"美国神话"。

Robert Schenkkan＇s 1992 Pulitzer winning epic drama The Kentucky Cycle consists of nine short plays about a feud between two pioneering families on the Cumberland Plateau. Focusing on the violence narrative in the work, this paper explores how the American Myth turns out to be familial enmities and emotional struggles. This paper argues that by representing violence in terms of race, gender and ecology, the play questions the American pioneering history and demythifies the American dream, puritan beliefs and illusion of ecological civilization.