朱利安·巴恩斯短篇小说的衰老与死亡叙事分析

The Narrative Analysis of Aging and Death in Julian Barnes′Short Stories

英国作家朱利安·巴恩斯的短篇小说集《柠檬桌子》与《脉搏》共同探讨了衰老与死亡主题,讲述了人在年老时对待生命纷繁复杂的态度。为了消解文本在这一敏感主题上的道德说教意味,巴恩斯着重就叙事话语层进行了设置:采用了变换式内聚焦、自由间接引语和直接引语、互文式的信件,建构出可供读者就衰老与死亡主题进行思辨的文本空间。巴恩斯意在告诫人们应该直面衰老与死亡,同时找寻生活中的爱,如此才能确认个体存在的意义与价值。

The Lemon Table and Pulse,collections of short stories by Julian Barnes,explore the themes of aging and death,and the complex attitudes to life in old age.In order to remove the moralistic preaching of the text on this sensitive topic,Barnes lays emphasis on setting up the narrative discourse by adopting shifting internal focalization,free indirect speech and direct speech,intertextual letters,thereby to construct a textual space for readers to think about aging and death,intending to warn people that they should face aging and death bravely and find love in life,so as to confirm the meaning and value of individual existence.