顿悟的徒劳——论乔伊斯《死者》中男主人公的杂交身份

Epiphany in Vain:Hybridity of Gabriel Conroy in Joyce's The Dead

詹姆斯·乔伊斯《都柏林人》的结篇《死者》以爱尔兰独立前期仍处于英国殖民统治下的都柏林为背景进行叙事,带有浓重的后殖民色彩。男主人公加布里埃尔是典型的杂交性身份,一方面他认同殖民者话语,另一方面他又受到爱尔兰民族文化的熏陶,因此他的身份存在很大的不确定性和矛盾性。文章认为其双重身份是不完整的,这种不完整性减弱了加布里埃尔在故事尾声的顿悟所应有的效力,给隐含其中的爱尔兰民族复兴的希望蒙上了阴影,也揭示了乔伊斯和他的男主人公一样,对自身和民族的未来都是茫然的。

The postcolonial concern resonates through The Dead which is the last story in James Joyce's short-story collection Dubliners.Joyce's portrait of Gabriel Conroy who lives in Dublin before the Ireland independence renders double layers of Gabriel's identity.As a cultural hybrid,whether he is a“West Briton”adherent to the British norms or a nostalgic Irishman inclined to Pre-Famine Gaelic Ireland remains indeterminate.Gabriel Conroy's two layers of identities are incomplete and illegitimate.In spite of the final epiphany which seemingly generates the hope of Irish nation's potential revival,Gabriel finds himself caught in an identity crisis and tries to find a way out.However,in face of the disappointing reality,both Gabriel and Joyce are indeterminate about the solution.