认同与接纳:康拉德及《艾米·福斯特》

Conrad and His Amy Foster: Identification and Acceptance

出身波兰贵族家庭的英籍作家康拉德被认为是对异族文化认同并被接纳的一个成功典型。他在自己的回忆作品中讲述了自己成功的经历,但很少讲到自己在认同与被接纳过程中遭到的挫折。其小说《艾米·福斯特》中的主人公扬柯与他有相似的经历,但却是一个悲剧性结局。把康拉德与其小说人物扬柯做对比,可以发现在文化认同与接纳过程中某种难以言说的复杂与艰难。

Born and brought up in a Polish noble family ,Joseph Conrad has been regarded as an example to those who try to identify themselves with an alien culture in expectation of acceptance. He gave an account of his success in his memoir, but was almost silent about the setbacks he had suffered in the process. Yanko, the hero of his Amy Foster, had an experience similar to that of the writer, but finally ended up with ruining himself. A comparison of Conrad and Yanko, therefore, indicates that one has to overcome a lot of barriers in the course of adapting oneself to a new environment with a view to ultimate acceptance.