从《三姊妹》看契诃夫戏剧中的时间

Three Sisters:Time in Chekhov’s Plays

时间的主题是契诃夫戏剧创作中最重要的主题之一。而《三姊妹》作为契诃夫戏剧风格最鲜明的剧作,也最典型地体现出作为剧作家的契诃夫对时间的书写。契诃夫力求在对生活的日常性表现中体现出时间的主宰作用,表现出生活中时间的永恒流动。人与时间的关系在剧本中通过对"等待主题"的挖掘而得以进一步的揭示。凭借对三姊妹等待状态的展示,契诃夫表达了时间成为主宰人之命运的主人这一思想。契诃夫对人与时间之关系的理解,也相应地存在于去冲突化的戏剧理念中。戏剧动作的缺失使《三姊妹》呈静态化,而舞台的静态化则包含了契诃夫对时间主题的阐发:时间的流逝消解了人的行动之意义,行动与时间隔离了,行动被抛到时间流程之外。对时间的这种感受与契诃夫对喜剧性的追求有密切的关系。契诃夫在以《三姊妹》为代表的剧作中对时间的艺术表达不仅生成了其剧作内在的喜剧精神,而且对20世纪的现代戏剧影响深远。

Time is one of the most important themes in Chekhov’s plays.As a play that best represents Chekhov’s dramatic style,Three Sisters most typically embodies the playwright’s writing about time.In his description of daily life,Chekhov strives to reiterate not only the dominating role of time but also its eternal flow in life.The relationship between man and time is further revealed in the play through an exploration of the motif of"waiting".By unfolding the"waiting"experience of the three sisters,Chekhov expressed his thought that time became the master who could control man’s destiny.Accordingly,Chekhov’s understanding of the relationship between man and time is also reflected in his dramatic concept of deconfliction.The lack of dramatic actions makes Three Sisters static,whereas the staticized stage implies what Chekhov intends to say about the theme of time:the passage of time dissipates the meaning of human action;actions separates from time;and action falls beyond the passage of time.Such a feeling toward time is closely related to Chekhov’s pursuit of comicality.Chekhov’s artistic rendition of time in his drama,as represented by Three Sisters,produced not only the comedy spirit within his plays,but also his far-reaching influence on the modern drama in 20th century.