Since the publication of Coraz6n tan blanco （A Heart so White） （1992）, many critics have compared the Spanish novelist Javier Marias to Marcel Proust. Both favor long, meandering sentences, in which they insert vo...Since the publication of Coraz6n tan blanco （A Heart so White） （1992）, many critics have compared the Spanish novelist Javier Marias to Marcel Proust. Both favor long, meandering sentences, in which they insert voluminous asides. In thematic terms, their narratives are constantly involved with meditation over the extent to which we can understand the past, or the degree to which we can know either ourselves or others. Beyond their common preoccupation with time and memory, I will consider some remarkable similarities between Marias＇ and Proust＇s formative years and the role translation played in the development of their style. I will show the many ways in which Proust ＂haunts＂ Marias： in his metaphorical use of the translating practice, in his love of deferral, and in his brooding first-person narrators, racked by the anxiety of ignorance.展开更多
Which is the true religion？ In the Middle Ages, the parable of the three rings, in all its versions, is a subtle answer to this question, which uses a persuasive allegory. The allegory of the three rings refers to a ...Which is the true religion？ In the Middle Ages, the parable of the three rings, in all its versions, is a subtle answer to this question, which uses a persuasive allegory. The allegory of the three rings refers to a previous allegory, represented by three gems, one real and two fakes. The religion of the philosophers was born from the hidden meaning of the same allegory： universalism, brotherhood of men as children of the one and only God, the transcendence of a single God that cannot be reduced to any particular representation, and love for one＇s neighbors. The three sons who receive the inheritance of the ring, given by their father, are all loved by him and all three receive a gem that could be the real one. The similarity of the position of the three sons is equivalent to the moral element shared by the three religions： All those who believe in God and his justice put into practice the fundamental teachings of the philosophers. The meaning of the allegory is evident： None of the three sons can claim with certainty the possession of the real ring, but precisely because of this their faith can remain clear, removed from the temptation of pursuing someone because of that person＇s religion.展开更多
文摘Since the publication of Coraz6n tan blanco （A Heart so White） （1992）, many critics have compared the Spanish novelist Javier Marias to Marcel Proust. Both favor long, meandering sentences, in which they insert voluminous asides. In thematic terms, their narratives are constantly involved with meditation over the extent to which we can understand the past, or the degree to which we can know either ourselves or others. Beyond their common preoccupation with time and memory, I will consider some remarkable similarities between Marias＇ and Proust＇s formative years and the role translation played in the development of their style. I will show the many ways in which Proust ＂haunts＂ Marias： in his metaphorical use of the translating practice, in his love of deferral, and in his brooding first-person narrators, racked by the anxiety of ignorance.
文摘Which is the true religion？ In the Middle Ages, the parable of the three rings, in all its versions, is a subtle answer to this question, which uses a persuasive allegory. The allegory of the three rings refers to a previous allegory, represented by three gems, one real and two fakes. The religion of the philosophers was born from the hidden meaning of the same allegory： universalism, brotherhood of men as children of the one and only God, the transcendence of a single God that cannot be reduced to any particular representation, and love for one＇s neighbors. The three sons who receive the inheritance of the ring, given by their father, are all loved by him and all three receive a gem that could be the real one. The similarity of the position of the three sons is equivalent to the moral element shared by the three religions： All those who believe in God and his justice put into practice the fundamental teachings of the philosophers. The meaning of the allegory is evident： None of the three sons can claim with certainty the possession of the real ring, but precisely because of this their faith can remain clear, removed from the temptation of pursuing someone because of that person＇s religion.
