"Shortly after the First World War, a new literary technique gained considerable popularity. It almost completely prevented writers from interfering in their own works, allowing something like inner life to be told without commentary. fragments become possible in literature, this technique was once appropriately called 'inner monologue' or 'stream of consciousness'. Today, the spread and penetration of stream of consciousness literature around the world has had an enormous impact on other literary genres. It is obvious to all; however, there are still various opinions on the study of "stream of consciousness". Is "stream of consciousness" a literary technique or a stylistic issue? What is the difference between "stream of consciousness" and "inner monologue"? "Consciousness" Questions such as when "stream" literature began and how it developed around the world have always puzzled the study of stream of consciousness.
The term "stream of consciousness" first appeared in the American philosopher William? James's "Principles of Psychology". The book elaborates on the most distinctive theory of William James's psychological theory: the concept of comparing thoughts to a stream of water and the concept of "confluence of consciousness" "It combines human psychological activities. The objective state of consciousness that moves like running water is metaphorically described as a vivid image. After William James, the term "stream of consciousness" entered the literary field to refer to psychological description works that show conscious activities as a "flow" of psychological description. "It can be seen that the term "stream of consciousness" was not originally used in the field of literature. So, before the emergence of "stream of consciousness", what did people use to describe "stream of consciousness literature"?
"Inner Monologue" Translated into English as "Interior Monologue" or "Inner Monologue", this term was first proposed in Alexandre Dumas's novel "Twenty Years Later" (1845) in Gautier (1811-1872, French writer). There is a similar statement in "The Lost God". After the term "stream of consciousness" appeared, it was widely used in British literary theory and German literary theory. However, the French have always refused to coin the term "stream of consciousness" in French. Using "inner monologue"
It can be said that since humans have had ideological consciousness, there has probably been a spiritual and psychological phenomenon such as "stream of consciousness", including memories, imagination, association, reasoning, etc. In the description and expression of literature, methods and descriptions similar to the flow of consciousness, or methods and descriptions similar to the flow of consciousness, have also existed for a long time. Before the word appeared in Ma's "Twenty Years Later" and Gautier's novel "The Last Day", Figaro's famous soliloquy in act 5, scene 3 of "The Marriage of Figaro" by the 18th-century playwright Beaumarchais , Scanner's monologue in Scene 17 of "Scananelle" by the seventeenth-century comedian Molière can be regarded as an 'inner monologue.'"
Contemporary American Critics Robert Humphrey defines stream-of-consciousness novels this way: "Stream-of-consciousness novels should be regarded as novels that mainly explore a wide range of consciousness fields, usually the entire field of consciousness of one or several characters. In this novel, whether it is structure, theme, or general effect, all rely on the characters' consciousness to be expressed as the 'screen' or 'movie film' of description." On this basis, May Friedman's The judgment is made as to whether stream of consciousness is a technique or a form: "Stream of consciousness is a form of the novel, just as 'ode' or 'sonnet' refers to a form of poetry. Although 'Ode' and 'Sonnet' use certain different poetic techniques, they still belong to the same category. A similar distinction might be made between narrative fiction and stream-of-consciousness fiction. The difference in technique comes from two different ways of thinking, one is direct thought, the other is dream, or fantasy. ”
Different ways of thinking have different techniques. In the form of stream of consciousness, there are many techniques that can be changed. Among them, inner monologue, inner analysis, and sensory impressions are the most important ones.
“In the inner monologue, everything appears in the form of the character’s clear and quite complete language, but this language is not spoken or written in writing. Therefore, in In the inner monologue, there is a lot of clear consciousness and clear consciousness, but there is very little hazy consciousness and deep consciousness. "That is to say, inner monologue is relatively orderly and organized in its fluidity. It is often a kind of inner thinking, so it is restricted by human rationality, and subconscious and instinctive reactions almost no longer appear in inner monologue.
“Inner analysis is to summarize the characters’ impressions in the author’s narrative, so it will never leave the scope of close direct thought and rational control. It is somewhat like what Freud called pre- The psychological realm of consciousness." This approach already existed to some extent in the works of Stendhal and Dostoevsky, but not until the later works of Henry James and Proust's "Recollection of Waters." In "The Years", it was fully realized. As for sensory impression, the biggest difference between it and inner monologue is the different scope involved. Sensory impression involves the farthest distance from the focus of attention. Sensory impression is the most thorough way for writers to record pure feelings and images. It transplants the effects of music and poetry into novels. In Ulysses, the passage describing the Siren is a successful example of sensory impression. The purpose of the method of recording sensory impressions is to reproduce impressions of a purely personal nature.
It can be said that inner monologue expresses more clear and clear consciousness in the process of generating thoughts or impressions; inner analysis only involves a small part of consciousness, that is, the language field. It becomes indirect and narrative because of the intervention of the author—who is never so refined that he disappears entirely. Similarly, sensory impressions are only related to a small part of consciousness, but it is the part furthest from the center of attention.
Although "stream of consciousness" literature existed long before the term "stream of consciousness" appeared, the method of stream of consciousness only became popular around the 1920s. The most striking feature of stream-of-consciousness novelists in the 20th century is their attempt to reveal all consciousness directly and dramatically. This is in line with the prominent individualism and individualism trends in Western philosophy, sociology, and ethics in the 20th century, which promotes literature's emphasis on individuals. , closely related to paying more in-depth attention to people's mental activity state; at the same time, the development of psychology in the 20th century, especially the emergence of Freud's theory, provided inspiration for literature to express people's inner activities in depth and in a unique way and theoretical basis. This historical environment led stream-of-consciousness writers to have this view when creating: the important signs of human life should be found in the process of psychological consciousness, rather than in the external world; the inner emotional life is disordered and illogical. Compared with the logically related and definite continuity in thoughts and feelings, its free psychological continuity is more exemplary.
Wang Meng is the first writer in Chinese New Era literature to use the "stream of consciousness" technique to write novels. "Bu Li" and "The Voice of Spring" are his representative works. Wang Meng admitted that he had read some foreign novels, but emphasized that he was inspired by Lu Xun's "Wild Grass" and even consciously avoided the relationship between his "stream of consciousness" creation and Western stream of consciousness literature. "Please don't think that writing about psychological activities is the exclusive domain of foreigners. Chinese poetry is particularly good at writing about psychological activities. "A Dream of Red Mansions" is different from traditional novels precisely because of its psychological description." "I have always attached great importance to artistic association. I had this idea long before I had read any stream-of-consciousness novels or even known the term stream-of-consciousness.”
Wang Meng did not want others to regard his novel creation as merely being influenced by Western stream-of-consciousness novels. Wang Meng tried his best to find the origin of "stream of consciousness" in traditional Chinese literature. The phenomenon of searching for the roots of "stream of consciousness" spread rapidly. Some people pushed China's stream of consciousness literature to the early 20th century and emphasized its unique artistic origin: ""The Diary of a Madman" is China's first stream of consciousness novel", "This This novel has nothing to do with Western modernist stream-of-consciousness works..." Some people even think: ""Diary of a Madman" is a novel written using the method of stream of consciousness, and the method of stream of consciousness is fully realized in "Diary of a Madman". It greatly enriches the content of this novel."
Guo Moruo once said in his article "Criticism and Dreams" (March 3, 1937): "My article "Remnant". The focus of "Spring" is not on the description of the psychology. The psychology I describe is a kind of flow of subconsciousness - this is my extravagant hope in writing that novel. To measure it, there is indeed no climax at all. If someone has a little research on psychoanalysis or dream psychology, he will definitely be able to see a creative idea and express another opinion. "At 30. In the 1990s, the Chinese literary world not only introduced and analyzed the Western stream of consciousness in theory and criticism, but also reached a climax of attempts in creation, with the emergence of literary works represented by Liu Naou, Shi Zhecun, Mu Shiying, etc. "New Sensation School" novel writers group.
It is one-sided to say that the emergence of Chinese stream-of-consciousness novels has nothing to do with traditional Chinese literature, and it is also biased to think that Chinese stream-of-consciousness novel writers consciously used the stream-of-consciousness method in their creations from the beginning. If there have long been elements of stream of consciousness in traditional Chinese literature, then "internal lobbying" is a major aspect.
"Internal lobbying" was proposed by Hao Jing (1223-1270) of Jin Dynasty. The so-called "inner travel" refers to "outer travel", which refers to the travel of human psychology, consciousness, association and imagination. It is a kind of consciousness activity that is not subject to external restrictions and transcends the order of time and space. It uses its heart to communicate with everything, including memories, associations, imaginations, both concrete and abstract. This is very similar to the characteristics of the stream of consciousness that are not limited by the characters being represented, and do not have to follow the characters' conscious activities, but can change the narrative angle and time and space sequence at any time. However, this is only an investigation of the relationship between stream of consciousness and traditional Chinese literature.