從「講故事」到「小說」──論張愛玲小說中的記憶轉化

From ‘Storytelling’ to ‘Novel’ ─ an examination of memory transformation in Zhang Ailing’s novels

本文以記憶為題，探討在張愛玲整個的小說創作生涯中，具有傳承經驗作用的「講故事」敘述模式的衰亡過程，以及這種模式衰落以後，張愛玲的小說如何轉化成「小說」模式的經過，從而思考當中記憶與歷史的關係。本文以張愛玲不同階段的小說特色為研究脈絡，希望在時間及空間這兩個要素以外，發掘另一個劃分張愛玲各個小說創作時期的判斷點；同時，在經過本文關於小說內部風格轉變的研究以後，反過來亦能佐證相關的分期研究。本文首先以張愛玲的早期小說為重心，梳理出由〈第一爐香〉到〈紅玫瑰與白玫瑰〉中記憶的突然轉化，以及「講故事的人」由主導故事的位置逐漸退隱的情況，印證著本雅明所言「講故事」傳統的消散標誌著現代人「經驗」衰亡的狀況。本文接著討論張愛玲的中期小說，分析由《十八春》到《赤地之戀》「記憶」的轉變情況，特別是《十八春》與《小艾》作為無產階級文學實驗，與《秧歌》「平淡而近自然」的美學特色的關係。最後本文將引用本雅明有關普魯斯特的「非意願記憶」與「意願記憶」的論述，觀察張愛玲晚期小說中表現的「震驚」，以此突顯出張愛玲這一階段的小說創作在風格上的強烈轉變與記憶的密切關係。

This paper investigates the rise and fall of storytelling as a narrative approach in Zhang Ailing’s novel writing career with reference to the theme of memory. Through examining the transformation of her works from storytelling to novels, it provides an in-depth analysis of the interrelationship between memory and history. In this paper, Zhang Ailing’s novels are classified into different stages according to their time and location of creation. Such a study is significant because it affirms that the categorization method employed can effectively indicate her change in writing style. Besides the elements of time and place, it is hoped that another approach of categorization can be identified, which may even better highlight the features of Zhang Ailing’s novels at different periods. The paper first starts with an examination of Zhang Ailing’s early novels from Aloeswood Incense──the First Brazie (Chenxiang xie──Di yi lu xiang〈沉香屑──第一爐香〉) to The Red Rose and the White Rose (Hong meigui yu bai meigui 〈紅玫瑰與白玫瑰〉). Emphasis is put on investigating the sudden transformation of memory and the declining role of storyteller in her works. It also corroborates Walter Benjamin’s claim that storytelling fades away due to the poverty of ‘Erfahrung’ in modern society. The second part of the paper focuses on Zhang Ailing’s intermediate series and investigates how memory transforms itself from Eighteen Springs (Shiba chun《十八春》) to Naked Earth (Chidi zhi lian《赤地之戀》). The last part presents the idea of ‘shock’ portrayed in Zhang Ailing’s late novels. Walter Benjamin’s analysis of Prousts’ ‘mémoire involontaire’ and ‘mémoire volontaire’ has been applied for interpretation, which sheds light on the correlation between her radical change of writing style and memory.