Reinventing the Past in Kazuo Ishiguro's A Pale View of Hills

日裔英國小說家石黑一雄(Kazuo Ishiguro)嘗試在其小說《群山淡景》(A Pale View of Hills)中重建其對戰後日本的記憶。本文旨在探討這些記憶的形式與意義。定居英國鄉間的日本寡婦悅子回憶她在長崎最後一段時日的生活與遭遇，我們透過她的回憶看到戰後日本的社會心理與精神狀態。小說中的人物似乎都盡量避談過去，因此悅子的回憶留下了許多的空白，但她也藉由回憶與過去取得妥協。除了分析悅子個人的記憶之外，本文同時援引班雅明(Walter Benjamin)有關歷史記憶的理論析論這本小說對作者石黑一雄的意義。石黑一雄顯然有意藉這本小說重新召喚他對故國日本日漸消逝的記憶。

關鍵字

記憶；歷史；鄉愁；班雅明；長崎

並列摘要

A Pale View of Hills is Kazuo Ishiguro's literary attempt to reconstruct his memories of postwar Japan. This paper examines the forms and meanings of these memories. Through the reminiscences of Etsuko, a Japanese widow now residing in the English countryside, we glimpse the social-psychological conditions of postwar Japan. Most of the characters of the novel seem reluctant to discuss the past, and this explains why there are gaps and omissions in Etsuko's recollections. However, through her recollections, Etsuko somehow is reconciled with her past. This paper also deploys Walter Benjamin's concept of history to look into the significance of this novel for Ishiguro, as it obviously represents the author's effort to conjure up fading memories of his homeland.

並列關鍵字

memory ； history ； nostalgia ； Walter Benjamin ； Nagasaki

參考文獻

Jennings, Michael W.(Ed.),Eiland, Howard(Ed.),Smith, Gary(Ed.),Livingstone, Rodney(Trans.)(1999).Selected Writings, Volume 2, 1927-1934.Cambridge, MA:The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Google Scholar

Eiland, Howard(Ed.),Jennings, Michael W.(Ed.),Jephcott, Edmund(Trans.)(2003).Selected Writings, Volume 4, 1938-1940.Cambridge, MA:The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.