空间理论视域下《游泳者》的城市空间建构

The Urban Space Construction of The Swimmer with the Perspective of Space Theory

摘要: 《游泳者》是美国作家约翰·契弗创作的短篇小说。契弗在小说中对奈迪生活的兰卡斯特村进行了详细的描写，并以独特的写作技巧将其想象为城市空间。根据列斐伏尔的空间理论，空间应包含物质的、精神的和社会的空间，因此，《游泳者》中的城市图景不仅构筑了上个世纪中期美国的城市风貌，更体现了当时人们的精神世界和社会空间。本文将通过空间批评理论，分析和探讨契弗是如何在《游泳者》中通过城市意象建构三个维度的空间，以及其对该篇小说主题解读产生的影响。

Abstract: The Swimmer is a short story written by the American writer John Cheever. Cheever depicts the village, Lancaster, in this short story, and imagines it as an urban space with his unique writing skills. According to Lefebvre’s space theory, space should be material, spiritual and social. Therefore, the city depicted in The Swimmer not only captures the mid-20th-century American cityscape, but also reflects the spiritual and social space of people at that time. This paper will use the theory of spatial criticism to explore how Cheever uses city to construct three dimensions of space in The Swimmer and how this affects the interpretation of the novel’s theme.