英国农业大萧条与《好兵》的印象主义

The Great Depression of British Agriculture and Impressionism in The Good Soldier

英国现代主义小说家福特·马多克斯·福特的《好兵》以印象主义的写法闻名,前人对其印象主义的经典研究集中于分析叙事技巧和可能产生的心理效果,但难免将印象主义视为一种纯粹的文本手段。如果将文学印象主义的出现及其表现特点再置于相关的经济史语境中,便可发现小说主人公的经济困境呼应了英国历史上1873至1896年的农业大萧条。《好兵》不断闪回且缺少锚点的印象主义写法捕捉到农业大萧条的经济现实,即传统庄园制农业所象征的规律性期待遭到破坏,庄园主在改变经营方式和投资方式的过程中,必须承受自由贸易市场所带来的无穷性和虚拟经济的不可信性危机。基于此,《好兵》的印象主义不仅是展现认识论的艺术手段,也成为认识论本身。

The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford is celebrated for its literary impressionism.Previous studies place emphasis on narrative techniques and their possible psychological effects,but impressionism is thus readily regarded as a pure textual means.If the emergence of literary impressionism and its characteristics are repositioned in the economic context,then we can notice that the protagonist’s economic plight is reminiscent of the Great Depression of British Agriculture from 1873 to 1896.Impressionism in The Good Solider,with flashbacks and want of anchoring points,captures an economic reality:the regular expectation in traditional manorial economy became destroyed,in which process the landlords while adapting to new modes of management and investment,were coerced to tackle the crises of illimitability and incredibility,respectively caused by free trade market and virtual economy.Impressionism in The Good Soldier hence is not only an artistic means to demonstrate epistemology,but is transfigured into epistemology itself.