《嘉莉妹妹》与“颠倒”的美国梦

美国梦是美国文学的传统题材,所以,美国作家的创作大都会涉及此命题。面对世纪之交的风云变幻,年轻的德莱塞也以自己的耳闻目见为素材,在《嘉莉妹妹》中书写了自己所理解的美国梦。不过,他的见解未落入传统认知的窠臼,“颠倒”倾向明显。当然,这里的“颠倒”含义不再是通俗意义上的“倒置”“错乱”,而是蕴含了反传统的写实意味。在《嘉莉妹妹》中,德莱塞通过书写性别、诉求和途径三个维度的“颠倒”,试图重新厘正传统美国梦内涵中实践方面的偏差。同时,“颠倒”的举措还体现出他对“大转折的年代”里女性权益的维护,对消费时代下欲望主义的肯定和对资本垄断时期“公平道义”的倡导。

Sister Carrie and the Reversed American Dream

The American Dream is a traditional theme in American literature, therefore, the works of American writers tend to represent this proposition. Facing the changes at the turn of the century, from what he heard and saw, young Dreiser also wrote about the American Dream based on his own understanding in Sister Carrie. However, his opinion did not fall into the traditional cognitive pattern. Instead, the tendency of “reverse” in his opinion was very obvious. Of course, the meaning of “reverse” here is no longer “inversion” or “disorder” in the literal sense, but contains the realistic meaning of anti-traditionalism. In Sister Carrie, by “reversing” the three dimensions of gender, appeal and approach, Dreiser redefined the practical deviation in the connotation of the traditional American Dream. At the same time, the “reversed” action also reflects his protection of women's rights and interests in the “great turning era”, his affirmation of desire in the era of consumption and his advocacy of “fairness and morality” in the era of capital monopoly.