“英格兰花园”的狂欢与焦虑--《花园里的贞女》与共同体形塑

Revelries and Anxieties in“the Garden of England”:The Virgin in the Garden and Community Building

花园是英国文化的重要符号,也是拜厄特小说《花园里的贞女》中的核心意象。以往研究强调了这部小说与经典花园文本之间的互文性,尤其关注了花园的女性象征,但是大都忽视了其中的花园书写与共同体形塑之间的联系。如果将小说置于英国自身的花园文化传统,尤其是放在“英格兰大花园”的共同体想象传统中加以审视,就能发现花园意象在这部小说中的复杂内涵。它在呈现“快乐英格兰”这个经典的“乌托邦”幻象的同时,也传达了文化与环境的双重焦虑,以及在焦虑背后蕴藏的希望,即以包容和开放心态正视共同体面临的危机,通过历史传统和自然风土两方面的深度连接以实现英格兰花园的复兴。

An important cultural icon of England,the garden is a central image in A.S.Byatt's novel,The Virgin in the Garden.Previous studies have noted the intertextuality between thisnovel and some classic works of garden literature,with a particular focus on the garden asa symbol of femininity,but they have largely ignored the connection between the writingabout garden in the novel and community building.If we explore the novel in the context ofEngland's own traditional culture of garden,or its traditional imagination of the communitywithin"the Garden of England"in particular,we may discover the complex connotations ofthe garden image in the novel.While depicting"the Merry England"as a classic vision of"utopia,"the novel discloses not only anxieties over culture and environment,but also a hopethat lurks underneath,namely,a hope to confront the community crisis with tolerance andopen-mindedness,and to revive"the Garden of England"through a deep connection betweenhistorical traditions and genius loci.