林语堂乌托邦小说《奇岛》的空间书写

Space Writing of Lin Yutang’s Utopian Novel The Unexpected Island

林语堂的科幻小说《奇岛》表现了作家所谓的“一团矛盾”。透视小说内部存在的特殊空间特征,能还原其本来面目。小说存在着乌托邦、反乌托邦和异托邦三种空间形式。在文本中,乌托邦是开展叙述的基础架构,反乌托邦是对过度理想化状态的再思考,异托邦是作家探索结论的直接表现。这三重空间既有区别又有联系。一方面,文本建构与作家意图发生明显背反,反映出林语堂思想的复杂矛盾;另一方面,所有空间概念又统一于作家对社会结构和人性发展的现实思考,呈现一种合理的并置状态。由此,文本中的三层空间是明确的正、反、合关系,空间性成为表现林语堂人生哲学的重要维度:其具体表现了作家对乌托邦理想在不同层面的追求、反思与妥协。

Lin Yutang’s science fiction The Unexpected Island shows the complexity of the writer’s thought.The perspective of the special spatial features in the interior of the novel can restore its original nature.There are three spatial forms in the novel:utopia,dystopia and Heterotopia.In the text,Utopia is the basic structure of narration,dystopia is the rethinking of the over idealized state,and heterotopia is the direct expression of the writer’s exploration conclusion.This triple space is both different and related.On the one hand,the text construction is obviously contrary to the author’s intention,which reflects the complexity and contradiction of the author’s thought.On the other hand,all spatial concepts are unified in the writer’s realistic thinking of social structure and human development,showing a reasonable juxtaposition state.Therefore,the three layers of space in the text are clear relations of thesis,antithesis and synthesis,and spatiality has become an important dimension to express Lin Yutang’s philosophy of life:it concretely shows the writer’s pursuit,reflection and compromise on utopian ideals at different levels.