历史编纂元小说《公众的怒火》中的戏仿和拼贴

The Parody and Pastiche in The Public Burning, a Historiographic Meta-fiction

罗伯特·库弗的代表作《公众的怒火》具有琳达·哈琴所定义的"历史编纂元小说"的典型特质。这类小说往往呈现强烈的史学意识,具有历史责任感及指涉性。在库弗构筑的文本世界中,宏大历史叙事遭到消解,语言沦为文本游戏,作家在封闭的差异系统中嬉戏。通过运用戏仿和拼贴等语言游戏,消解高雅与通俗、精英与大众的对立,库弗不仅揭示文学创作的主观虚构性、后现代社会的真实状况和人类的生存状态,而且把矛头指向冷战时期美国的社会现实,使得《公众的怒火》具有明显的社会观照和重要的现实意义。

Robert Coover＇s masterpiece The Public Burning exhibits the typical characteristics of what Linda Hutcheon defines as ＂historiographic meta-fiction＂. Such novels usually employ post-modernist fiction strategies to demonstrate its historical con- sciousness, with a strong historical responsibility and referentiality. In the textual world constructed by Coover, the narration of grand historical narrative has been disintegrated, the language is reduced to a text game, and the writer plays in a closed differ- ence system. The stark distinction between highbrow and popular eulture dissolves when such language games as parody and col- lage are played in the text. Coover reveals not only the fictionality of literary creation and the real situation of postmodern society and human existence as well, but also the soeial reality of America during the Cold War period. The Public Burning is thus turned into a social mirror and endowed with deep practical signifieance.