《琼创造历史》与澳大利亚新历史小说热潮

Joan Makes History and the Boom of Neo-Historical Fiction in Australia

20世纪后期澳大利亚出现的历史小说热潮是世界范围内历史小说热潮的一部分,女作家在其中扮演了重要角色,创作了大量顺应时代潮流、颇具实验性和创新性的新历史小说。凯特·格伦维尔的《琼创造历史》以多重叙述者、断裂的叙述时间线和对正统历史叙事的戏仿挑战了传统的一元的、线性的历史观。该小说深刻揭示了女权主义第二次浪潮对女性历史书写的影响,不仅标志着作家个人创作倾向的转变,还标志着当代澳大利亚女权主义写作的一个总体转向。作为特殊时期的一部典型作品,《琼创造历史》还折射了“二百周年庆”前后澳大利亚社会面临的被撕裂的危险,反映当时的知识分子努力凝聚共识的同时又不乏反思和批判意识。

The boom of historical fiction in Australia in the late 20^(th) century was part of a worldwide boom in this subgenre of fiction,in which women writers played a major role,having produced a large number of neo-historical novels in line with the trend of the time and boldly experimental and innovative.Among these,Kate Grenville’s Joan Makes Historychallenges the traditional one-dimensional linear view of history with multiple narrators,fractured narrative timelines and parodies of orthodox historical narratives.The novel discloses the impact of the Second-Wave Feminism on women’s historical writing,marking not only a shift in Grenville’s personal tendency of creation but also a general shift in contemporary Australian feminist writing.As a typical work in an exceptional period,Joan Makes Historyalso reflects on the danger of tearing apart Australian society around the time of"the Bicentenary",reflecting the intellectuals of the time as they struggled to build consensus with no shortage of reflective and critical awareness.