《都柏林人》的全景式社会思维

　　In his review of traditional narratology，Palmer finds out that the traditional narratological approach to fictional minds （Bal，1997； Chatman，1978； Cohn，1978； Fludernik，1993； Lodge，2002） takes the internalist perspective to capture only part of the fictional minds because of its undue emphasis on the inner，introspective，private，solitary，and individual mind （2010： 39）. As a result，this internalist perspective is preoccupied with such concepts as direct thought，free indirect thought，stream of consaousness，and interior monologue，etc. that Palmer dubs the "speech category approach" （see Section 2.3.1，Chapter 2）. Palmer points out that since the speech category approach "is concerned primarily with part of the mind known as inner speech，the highly verbalized flow of self-conscious thought" （2004： 53），it neglects the other parts of the mind such as feelings，desires，beliefs，intentions，dispositions and emotions，and consequently，fails to give a full account of the social aspects of the mental processes. In his own remarks，"In my view，the position is very simple： sometimes thought is highly verbalized and can accurately be described as inner speech； sometimes it is not and so cannot"（65） Of the three modes of thought presentation： direct thought，thought report and free indirect thought，Palmer analyzes their functions of presenting the areas of the mind. He ranks them according to their degrees of presenting mind： thought report apt for all areas of the mind，including inner speech，free indirect thought apt for inner speech and some other areas of the mind，and direct thought apt only for inner speech （56）. Based on this discovery，Palmer points out that the speech category approach privileges the mimetic categories of direct thought and free indirect thought，conveying individual and private minds over the diegetic category of thought report which renders "such states of mind as emotions，sensations，dispositions，beliefs，attitudes，intentions，motives，and reason for action" （13）. He argues that thought report is the versatile technique in that it can summarize inner speech and present it as mental action （56）. Therefore，Palmer puts the mode of thought report "at the center of the presentations by narrators to readers of the contents of fictionalminds in their social and physical contexts" （76）. He further suggests that as against the speech category approach，his new approach is "toward narrators' presentations of the whole mind that focuses on both states of mind and inner speech and that acknowledges the indispensable and pivotal role of thought report in linking individual mental functioning to its social context" （ibid.）.The narrator，treated as intrusive or distorting in the speech category approach，is taken to assume a "linking function" （ibid.） by situating the characters' minds within their physical and soaal context. Thus，Palmer "rehabilitated thoughtreport […] as a sophisticated and flexible technique for the representation of fictional consciousness" （Keen，2011： 358） because it "is ideally suited to informative presentations of the purposive and directive nature of thought as well as its social nature" （Palmer，2004： 76），and "is the norm because the linking function is such a vital contribution to what can plausibly be described as the purpose of the novel： the exploration of the relationship between indMduals and the soaeties within which they live" （78）.In addition to the speech category approach，story analysis，the concept of focalization，and characterization theory as the other classical methodologies "do not add up to a complete and coherent study of all aspects of the minds of characters in novels" （Palmer，2010： 8），either.Palmer subsumes such branch of narrative theory by structuralists as narrative grammar，narrative structures，the analysis of story，the functional classification of action sequences under the rubric of "story analysis" （2004：28），in which structuralist theorists define characters as functions （Propp，1968），or as actants （Bremond，1973； Greimas，1983； Todorov，1977）. Palmer points out that story analysis based on characters as actants of fixed functions is "at a very high level of abstraction" （2004： 29）. Herman also questions the structuralist narratologists' view of characters as "regularly recurring，typifiable 'participants' in the syntagmatic unfolding of the narrated action" （1999： 233-234）. Thus，if a character is regarded as someone who can think，feel，believe，desire，including all sorts of mental activities，the structuralist narratologists'view precludes any mental activity a character can be entitled to. In Palmer's words，"if the ways in which characters are constructed by readers are to be fully understood，they have to be regarded as fictional beings that are related to world view and time-space in a fuller and more holistic manner than story analysis envisages" （2004： 30）. In addition，Palmer also pinpoints the limited use of the concept of action by story analysis. He argues that "The analysis of narrative structures is clearly dependent on a good deal of indirect inference about fictional minds through examinations of the function and significance of the physical actions caused by those minds" （ibid.）. In this sense，the scope of study on fictional minds is extended from direct reference to mental states toactions caused by those mental states. Therefore，the study on fictional minds is concerned with the characters' fictional minds. In turn，the concept of event in story analysis is targeted by Palmer，who strongly argues that "Events only have significance if they are experienced by actors" （ibid.）. ……