‘Hoop op iets vaags’: ambiguity, unreliability and indeterminacy in Erwin Mortier’s Marcel (1999)

IF 0.4 3区 历史学 Q1 HISTORY Dutch Crossing-Journal of Low Countries Studies Pub Date : 2018-06-18 DOI:10.1080/03096564.2018.1476800
B. Mertens
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Abstract

Abstract Erwin Mortier’s acclaimed debut novel Marcel, first published nearly twenty years ago, tells the story of a Flemish family haunted by a dark past: the involvement of several members in the wartime collaboration with the German occupier. The novel has usually been read as a narrative of reconciliation, showing the often painful process of successive generations gradually gaining some understanding of the past and coming to terms with it, before being able finally to lay its guilty weight to rest. However, a close reading and historial contextualisation of Marcel reveals a much more complex picture, casting doubt both on the accuracy of the characters’ understanding and the sincerity of their intentions. This article is the first to offer a rival interpretation of Mortier’s novel, proposing that, rather than recognising their guilty past, the characters may be unable or unwilling to acknowledge it as such, and could instead be poised to sow the seeds of its continuation and repetition.
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《马塞尔》(1999)中的模棱两可、不可靠和不确定性
欧文·莫蒂埃的处女作《马塞尔》于近20年前首次出版,广受好评,讲述了一个被黑暗过去困扰的佛兰德家庭的故事:几个成员卷入了与德国占领者的战时合作。这部小说通常被解读为和解的叙事,展现了连续几代人逐渐对过去有所了解并接受它的痛苦过程,最后才能够放下内疚的重担。然而,仔细阅读《马塞尔》并将其置于历史背景中,就会发现一幅复杂得多的画面,让人怀疑人物理解的准确性和他们意图的真诚。这篇文章是第一个对莫蒂埃的小说提供一种对立的解释,提出,与其承认他们有罪的过去,人物可能不能或不愿意承认这一点,相反,他们可以准备好播下延续和重复的种子。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.90
自引率
20.00%
发文量
6
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