当代澳大利亚人的“幻灭”困境——论约瑟芬·威尔逊的《灭绝》

An Interpretation of Australian “Disillusionment” in Josephine Wilson’s Extinctions

澳大利亚当代作家约瑟芬·威尔逊的《灭绝》(2016)一举获得了2017年迈尔斯·弗兰克林奖。小说标题"灭绝"是一个至少有着三重所指功能的能指:即弗雷德里克生存希望的幻灭、地球濒危生物的灭绝和澳大利亚土著文明的衰亡,并以冲突最大化的艺术形式呈现出"幻灭"张力。论文从上述三方面深入探究小说表层和深层所共同呈现的"灭绝"问题,深入探讨了小说凸显的当代澳大利亚人生存的幻灭困境、人与自然的冲突困境、土著与白人文化的对峙困境,研究表明小说《灭绝》主题背后蕴含了作家对当代澳大利亚人面临的深层"幻灭"困境的作家担当。

Josephine Wilson’s Extinctions wins the 2017 Miles Franklin Award. This article explores the existential dilemmas of contemporary Australians, the extinct crisis of rare species, the confrontations between aboriginal civilization and white culture in the multicultural Australia. It mainly illustrates the "disillusionment" predicaments prevailing in the contemporary Australia. This article argues that the title "extinctions" is a transcendental signifier with triple signified functions: namely, the disillusionment of Frederick’s hope, the extinct crisis of rare biological species and the die-out trend of indigenous civilization, aiming to analyze the deeper existential "disillusionments" of contemporary Australians behind the "extinctions".