从新物质主义视角看《熊的神话》对人类与非人类自然的后人文书写

Human and Non-Human Nature: A New-Materialist Reading of Posthumanist Writing in “The Myths of Bears”

瑞克·巴斯的中篇《熊的神话》的叙事重点是人与自然的关系,若注意到这点,就能对人生神话论有较清晰的认识。此外,拟人化是自然书写的一个争论点,《熊的神话》却大量使用拟人及拟物手法,其效果值得探讨。本文从新物质主义视角解读该中篇,发现拟物手法与感官词汇的频繁使用彰显了荒野强大施事能力,人物的身体与行为由此表现出明显动物性。拟人手法的大量使用则不仅使动物得以言说自己的故事,展示出不俗感知力和认知水平,还生动展现了人与动物的内在互动。人物对熊的有限认识则暴露了人类认知的有限性,凸显了物的实体存在。总体而言,《熊的神话》充分展示了非人类自然的本体地位,体现出明显的去人类中心思想,传递着强烈的环保诉求。

Some critics read Rick Bass’ s "The Myths of Bears" as a fable of marriage;in fact, what dominates the narrative is the relationship between human and non-human nature. Anthropomorphism has been a debatable device in nature writing but "The Myth of Bears" is replete with examples of anthropomorphism and metamorphosis.This paper reads the novella through the lens of new materialism, and argues that Bass’ s frequent use of both metamorphosis and sensory terms fully reveals the agency of nature, which is manifest in the three characters’ occasional loss of self-control, as well as their animal-like behavior. The abundant use of anthropomorphism endows non-human animals with the ability to speak, demonstrates their perceptive and cognitive abilities, and presents the close interaction between human and non-human animals. The three characters’ limited knowledge of the bear exposes the limitations of epistemology and highlights the substantial reality of objects. On the whole, by fully revealing the ontological status of non-human nature, "The Myth of Bears" expresses a clear anti-anthropocentric view and delivers a strong environmentalist message.