新世纪西方斯蒂芬·克莱恩研究述评

A Review of Stephen Crane Studies in the West since 2000

美国自然主义文学经典作家斯蒂芬·克莱恩一直吸引着西方学术界。进入新世纪后,在文学研究文化转向的深刻影响下,克莱恩研究又呈现出新面貌和新特点。评论界更加注重重新定位克莱恩的作品风格,在意识形态视域中深入探寻其作品的政治意义,并在性别历史语境中考察其男性书写的内涵和动因。这些研究新见迭出,契合了西方文学评论界经典作家重释的研究重心,也逐渐演绎出文学研究中文学本体的审美回归趋向,丰富和推动了美国自然主义文学研究。但是其中也仍然存在某些缺憾,有关克莱恩的诗歌、短篇小说和后期作品研究有待得到学界重视。

Stephen Crane, a classic naturalist writer in the American literary history, has always caught the attention of the western academia. Since the advent of the 21 st century, the Western Stephen Crane scholarship has exhibited new features with deep influences from cultural studies. The critics tend to underscore the re-orientation of Crane＇s writing style, tracking the political meanings of Crane＇s works and the historically implied motivations of Crane＇s masculinist writings in the ideological and gender contexts. New ideas pop out of the critical discussions, responding to the Western academia＇s research emphasis on literary canons and the tendency to return to aesthetics in literary criticism. These efforts have enriched and promoted studies in American naturalism. However, the survey also suggests that more attention be paid to Crane＇s poetry, short stories and his later works.