认识到自己位置的奥德修斯：从生态学角度解读《奥德赛》

尽管在从特洛伊返回伊萨卡岛的十年旅途中,奥德修斯与自然环境、自然事物和自然存在有着强烈的交融,但是,荷马史诗的评论者们却忽视了他在《奥德赛》中对自然再现的意义。文章赞同威廉·克罗农的观点：＂人类活动出现在由各种关系、过程和系统构成的网络中。这个网络既是生态的,也是文化的。＂本文认为,荷马在《奥德赛》中构建了一个物理环境,这个环境基于他对地中海的天气、独特的日相以及自然万物所具有的精确认识之上。在这种自然环境中,他的行为特征受到了考验、受到了挑战,不仅在生理上成长着,而且在心理上、道德上也成长着。文章采用了有机形态模式、管理者模式和人类中心模式,证明《奥德赛》承认人类生活的多种可能性,即遵照有机形态模式和管理模式的值得尊敬的原则而生活;但是,在他返乡途中,奥德修斯主要按照统治和剥夺的原则行动,而这正是人类中心主义的观点。这点在奥德修斯对库克洛普斯、波吕斐摩斯、基尔克岛上动物的攻击以及与太阳神的战斗中表现的尤为明显。在返乡之前,奥德修斯回归到他的动物天性,失去了他的文化属性;他再一次准备好去欣赏他的故乡,认可他与故乡诸多居民的关系,包括各种动物和与这些动物生活在一起的人们,尽管它们表面上是低级阶层。通过忠诚的养猪人欧迈奥斯及其父拉埃尔特斯,奥德修斯认识到管理者角色的重要意义,以及从事农业活动带来的人与自然之间的互惠互利。《奥德赛》作为一种文体在当代的流行表明,越来越多的叙事反映了从自我中心向生态中心视角转变的意义。

Odysseus Comes to Know His Place:Reading The Odyssey Eco-critically

Despite Odysseus＇ intense engagement with natural conditions,natural elements,and natural beings during his ten-year journey from Troy to Ithaca,literary criticism of Homer＇s epic has neglected to acknowledge the significance of Homer＇s representation of nature in The Odyssey.Supporting William Cronon＇s conviction that ＂human acts occur within a network of relationships,processes,and systems that are as ecological as they are cultural＂,this essay argues that in The Odyssey Homer constructs a physical environment based on his precise knowledge of the Mediterranean＇s weather and the particular importance of the sun,of its plant and animal species.In this natural context,the behavior of his characters is tested,and they are challenged to grow not only physically,but also psychologically and morally.Using the models of biomorphism,stewardship,and anthropocentrism,the essay demonstrates that The Odyssey acknowledges the possibilities for human beings to live according to the respectful principles of biomorphism and stewardship,but that during his homeward journey Odysseus acts primarily according to the principles of domination and exploitation,characteristic of the anthropocentric perspective.This is especially evident in his aggressive behavior toward the Cylops,Polyphemous,and in relation to the animals on Circe＇s island and the cattle of the Sun God.Prior to his homecoming,stripped down to his animal nature and losing his cultural belongings,Odysseus is prepared once more to appreciate his homeland and to recognize his relationship to the inhabitants of his homeland,including animals and people who,living with animals,are ostensibly of a lower class.Through Eumaeus,his loyal swineherd,and his father,Laertes,he recognizes the meaning of good stewardship,of working on the land for the mutual benefit of humans and nature.The contemporary popularity of The Odyssey as a genre reveals an increasing number of narratives reflecting the significance of the shift from an egocentric to ecocentric perspective.