《儿童时光》的历史改写与经典戏仿

Rewriting of History and Parody of The Merchant of Venice in Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour

莉莲·海尔曼的处女作和成名作《儿童时光》在创作之初便获得了商业成功,评论界普遍将该剧的成就归功于其离奇的"情节剧"剧情和敏感的"女同性恋"禁忌题材,该剧叙事价值则颇具非议,以致海尔曼本人多次受访时都竭力撕掉该剧"情节剧"和"女同性恋"题材的标签。本文从《儿童时光》对19世纪初苏格兰诉讼案的历史叙事改写和对莎士比亚经典叙事的戏仿两方面入手,探究该剧对同性恋题材的叙事策略,以及对《威尼斯商人》情节格局与人物关系的拟摹,考证该剧对正义、仁慈与复仇的伦理思考。

Lillian Hellman gained both fame and wealth with her masterpiece and debut,The Children＇s Hour,but the play is fated without any drama awards. Critics attribute the play＇s rise and fall to its melodramatic features and its bold involvement with the taboo of lesbianism,both of which trigger renunciation of Hellman herself. This paper examines The Children＇s Hour from its rewriting of the historical lawsuit in Scotland and its parody with The Merchant of Venice,to discuss how the taboo of lesbianism and the melodramatic relationship of characters in the play help to promote the tragedy of the ethical dilemma,of justice and revenge.