市场经济中的司各特:文学出版业与历史小说的兴起

Scott in Market Economy

市场经济体制下的文学出版业成为司各特历史小说创作的重要推手,引导他从诗歌向历史小说写作转型。市场经济时代灵活的稿酬支付方式使司各特可以提前透支文学信用,在很大程度上刺激并迫使他进行高强度写作,成为极为高产的作家。司各特是激进型投资者,他将文学写作视为商品生产,将获得的利润再投入到出版业和其它产业,进行资本的循环增值。文学出版业中的资本力量在一定程度上影响甚至塑形了司各特的写作,促成了历史小说在英国的快速兴起。

In a market economy,the publishing industry plays an important role to initiate the historical novels of Walter Scott. The flexibility of the ways to get payment in advance entitles Scott to overdraw his literary credit, which in turn forces him to work harder to be a highly productive writer. Taking the process of writing as the production of certain merchandise, Scott invests his profit with an aggressive strategy to fulfill the appreciation of capital. The force of capital in the publishing industry exerts a great influence on or even fashions Scott＇s novels,giving a boost to the rise of the genre of historical novel in the United Kingdom.