亨利·詹姆斯对理想文明的追求

亨利·詹姆斯是美国著名的小说家。他一生关心的是人与人之间的关系。在他横贯两大陆的特殊生活中 ,他发现欧洲代表一种文明 ,美国则代表另一种文明。美国人有很强的道德意识 ,尚未被虚伪诡诈、势利庸俗的世风所玷污 ,但他们诚实的背后却隐藏着无知 ;欧洲有灿烂的文化 ,所以 ,欧洲人有教养 ,有品味 ,但他们却道貌岸然 ,内心充满门第等级、虚荣傲慢等传统偏见。通过新旧两大陆文明的对比 ,詹姆斯试图发现并阐释一种新的文明社会 ,使人类能在更高层面上和谐相处。他对此理想文明社会的探索及追求贯穿于他的主要作品及他的一生。

Henry James' Sacred Quest for High Civilization

Henry James is a famous American novelist. His major concern is man's relationship with each other. In his cross continental life, he discovers Europe as one civilization and America, another. The latter has high moral and spiritual quality but its culture is very thin, while the former is loaded with thick culture but is decadent and corrupted. By contrast, James tries to conceive of a better world, an ideal and highly civilized world for man's existence. His major works constitute an endless attempt to create such a world and to ponder its effect on the men and women who might live in it.