Humanism Trumps Naturalism: Morality at Play in the Works of Stephen Crane

人本主義凌駕自然主義：史蒂芬‧克萊恩作品中的道德觀

金大衛(David J. P. Gordon)

自然主義 ； 人本主義 ； 寫實主義 ； 道德倫理 ； 哲學 ； 環境 ； Naturalism ； Humanism ； Realism ； morality ； metaphysics ； environment

高雄師大學報：人文與藝術類

39期（2015 / 12 / 01）

27 - 42

英文

每位文學家的特質，均無法一言以蔽之，且文學家所欲表達的思想，也常不限宥於單一哲學。在文學評論中，我們習慣將文學家分門別類，或歸類為某某思潮，或某某社會運動，但常常無法含括這些文學家的思想全貌，作家史蒂芬．克萊恩(StephenCrane)便是一例。近年來，不少有關於史蒂芬．克萊恩(StephenCrane)的形上哲學相關評論，大部份側重於自然主義的看法。這些評論者們，對史蒂芬．克萊恩小說中的自然主義議題，多有探討，惟鮮能對其作品的人文特質，提出完整看法；結果常是以管窺天，以蠡測海，未見全豹，至為可惜。史蒂芬．克萊恩的作品雖以自然主義為框架，但在大自然架構的人文社會中，作者亦主張提倡人本主義之生活態度。大自然對人之態度或許漠然，人類卻應該勇敢表達悲天憫人的胸懷。畢竟我們同處一舟，若能同舟共濟，不僅能倖存於世，更能臻於幸福之境，而這也是史蒂芬．克萊恩一生的懸念。

No one quality defines a writer, just as no metaphysical theory can encompass all that a writer wishes to communicate. All too often in the field of literary analysis authors are pigeon-holed into one movement or another, but the result is that some of what they have to say is lost in the din of categorizations and movements. Stephen Crane is one such example. Over the years a large body of scholarly work has been accumulated on Stephen Crane, and for the most part, this scholarship has focused on Naturalism. Many scholars have discussed the Naturalistic qualities of Crane’s fiction, while a much fewer number of critics have highlighted the Humanistic qualities present in the works of Crane. Consequently, statements that allude to Crane as simply being a Naturalist tend to belittle the Humanistic qualities of his writing. While it is nothing new to state that elements of Humanism are present in Crane’s stories, these elements have been underestimated and undervalued, and there is a strong argument to suggest that these Humanistic elements of the fiction are in fact a main focus of Crane. That is to say, Humanism can be argued to trump Naturalism in the works of Stephen Crane. This dominance of Humanism can be seen in a number of Crane’s stories, including Maggie A Girl of the Streets, The Monster, The Blue Hotel and The Open Boat. Crane writes within the paradigm of Naturalist fiction, yet within those boundaries advocates a Humanist approach to the societies that inhabit this natural world, and this is the main focus of many of his stories. The universe may indeed be indifferent, but humanity can still dare to show compassion, and Crane seems to suggest this very point in his stories.

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