论格雷厄姆·斯威夫特《水之乡》中的生态伦理书写

On Ecological Ethics in Graham Swift’s Waterland

当代英国作家格雷厄姆·斯威夫特的小说《水之乡》采用网状叙事结构,描绘了一幅有关芬斯沼泽的后现代历史图景。小说将文学虚构与现实相结合,记录了人类与芬斯沼泽由和谐共存走向激烈对抗的过程,批判了科技对人类和自然的异化。小说书写了家族商业帝国和民族帝国的兴衰历程,揭露了男性中心主义和人类中心主义实践的共谋。小说展现了冷战时期人类对核污染和创伤记忆的恐惧,剖析了英国教育中的工具理性,探寻了人类的自我救赎之路。小说所蕴含的生态伦理思想对于我们思考当下人类面临的生态困境和可能的出路具有重要的现实意义。

The contemporary British author Graham Swift’s novel Waterland draws a postmodern historical picture of the Fenland through an interwoven narrative structure. To begin with, the novel combines literary fiction and historical facts, by tracing the transformation of interaction between human and the Fenland from harmonious co-existence to violent confrontation to criticize alienation of mankind and nature by science and technology. Then, the novel exposes the complicity of male-chauvinistic and anthropocentric practices through the rise and fall of family business empire and national empire. Finally,the novel demonstrates people’s fear of nuclear pollution and traumatic memory during the Cold War,examining the instrumental rationality permeating in contemporary British education system and exploring the way of human self-redemption. The ecological ethics contained in the novel is of great practical significance for us to reflect on the current ecological dilemma and find a possible solution.