自我·他者·社会：《追忆似水年华》与《终结的感觉》中的多重记忆交织

Self, Others, and Community: Interweaving Multiple Memories in In Search of Lost Time and The Sense of an Ending

摘要: 记忆不仅是时间的容器，更是一次身份建构的旅程。文章考察了马塞尔·普鲁斯特的《追忆似水年华》和朱利安·巴恩斯的《终结的感觉》在探寻记忆的过程中实现真正的身份认同的过程。在《追忆似水年华》中，记忆碎片连接起过去与现在的“自我”，对叙述者马塞尔的个体身份进行再塑造，从而构建了一个超越时间、连续统一的新的自我形象；此外，在马塞尔与他人和社会的互动中，自我的永恒通过文学与艺术得以实现，一战带来的精神创伤也得到表达。在《终结的感觉》中，记忆成为个体反思与身份重构的工具，他人的视角促进记忆的再次评估，揭示出个体身份是在社会互动和外部现实中不断形成和演变的。因此，文章以马塞尔和托尼的个体记忆为线索，探讨个人在自我、他者和社会视角下对身份认知的转变，在追求身份的完整感、统一感时，也要不断地自我调整与完善。这不仅为记忆与身份在文学与社会语境中的互动提供了新的视角，更促进了对于个人与社会身份构建过程的深刻反思。

Abstract: Memory serves not merely as a container of time but as a journey of identity construction. This paper examines the process through which true identity recognition is realized in the exploration of memory in Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time and Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending. The study reveals that in In Search of Lost Time, memory fragments connect the “self” of the past and present, reshaping the individual identity of the narrator, Marcel, thereby constructing a continuous and unified concept of “self”. Moreover, in the interactions between Marcel, others, and society, the eternity of the self is achieved through literature and art, while the spiritual trauma brought by World War I is also expressed. In The Sense of an Ending, memory serves as a tool for individual reflection and identity reconstruction, with the perspectives of others prompting a reevaluation of those memories, unveiling how personal identity constantly forms and evolves within social interactions and external realities. Therefore, this study, using Marcel and Tony’s individual memories as threads, explores the transformation of personal identity cognition from the perspectives of self, others, and society. While pursuing a sense of completeness and unity in identity, continuous self-adjustment and improvement are also necessary, which not only provides a new perspective on the interaction between memory and identity in literary and social contexts but also fosters a profound reflection on the process of personal and social identity construction.