“真实的童话故事”——论歌德童话《新梅露西娜》

Interpretation of Goethe's“The New Melusine”

《新梅露西娜》是歌德《威廉·迈斯特的漫游时代》中的一则故事,是歌德对民间童话“水妖”故事的改写。在梳理已有研究结论的基础上,文章结合歌德的自身经历和文学创作思想,在小说的总体框架和主题思想中来解读这一“真实的童话故事”之“真实”所在及“童话”的意义,尝试得出如下的结论:《新梅露西娜》在《漫游时代》中的意义及歌德的意图不局限于任何一种定论。歌德将虚构的故事置于客观世界中,这则兼具虚构和真实的故事非简单的模仿现实、解释人生,而是承载了歌德的哲学思想,是他述思之载体。歌德以自己特有的想象力、以童话为媒介回应社会转型中复杂、多元的现实,以此完成对现实的把握,并提供一种新的对人、对世界的具有批判性的认知方式。

“The New Melusine”is a story from Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years,which is a paraphrase of the folk tale“Water Witch”.In connection with Goethe's literary creator theory,the present work interprets the“true”position and meaning of the“fairy tale”of the“true fairy tale”in the overall framework of the novel on the basis of representative existing research results and has come to the following conclusion:The meaning of“The New Melusine”in the Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years and the intention of Goethe are not limited to any conclusion.Goethe puts fictional history in the objective world.This fictional and true story does not only mimick reality and tries to explain life,but above all serves as a medium for Goethe to represent his philosophical thinking.With his unique imagination and magical medium,Goethe responds to the diverse complex reality of social transformation,completing the understanding of reality and critically enabling a new cognitive approach to humanity and the world.