《夜林》:犹太人的忧郁和现代性批判

The Jewish Melancholia and Critique of Modernity in Nightwood

美国作家朱娜·巴恩斯在其现代主义代表作《夜林》中用极具诗意且乖张的意象书写忧郁并对现代性进行批判思考。小说从忧郁的个人形象、忧郁的缘由以及利用忧郁进行批判性思考和救赎这三个方面,描写了犹太人在现代性进程中承受的宿命般的忧郁。小说以犹太人最终救赎失败为结局表明,对忧郁的反思并无法带来根本转变,并以此来批判现代性进程的残酷。巴恩斯对犹太人无法摆脱的忧郁命运的书写投射出来的是对人类普遍苦难的承认与反思。

In her modernist masterpiece,Nightwood,the American writer,Djuna Barnes,employs poetic yet grotesque imagery to represent melanchoia and reflect critically on modernity.The novel describes the deterministic melancholia suffered by Jewish people in the wake of modernist progress in three key aspects:the image of Jews'melancholia,the underlying causes of their melancholia,and addressing melancholia for critical reflection and redemption.By showing the Jewish people's ultimate failure in redemption,the novel not only asserts that the introspection on melancholia would not bring about any fundamental changes,but also denounces the harsh realities during the progress of modernity.What Barnes'representation of Jewish people's inescapable melancholy destiny shows us is the recognition and rumination of the universal suffering in human existence.