The Meaning of Shadows

村上春樹於2016/10/30在挪威奧登斯獲頒安徒生文學獎。以下為全文演說，

It was only recently that I read Hans Christian Andersen's story “The Shadow." My Danish translator, Mette Holm, recommended it, saying she was sure I would find it interesting. Until I read it, I had no idea at all that Andersen had written stories like this.

直到最近第一次讀了安徒生的短篇小說──《影子》。起因是我的丹麥語翻譯赫爾姆覺得我一定會喜歡，因而推薦給我。坦白說，直到在讀它之前，我從沒想過安徒生曾寫過這類的小說。 As I read the Japanese translation of “The Shadow," I found it had an intense, frightening plot. Andersen is known to most people in Japan as a writer of fairy tales aimed at children, and I was astonished to find he'd written such a dark, hopeless fantasy. And a question naturally came to me, namely, “Why did he feel the need to write a story like that?"

看了日文翻譯版本的《影子》後，覺得它是一篇帶有濃烈且令人驚悚的情節的故事。因為對大多數日本人而言，安徒生主要是以兒童為讀者寫作故事的作家，在得知他寫了這麼陰沉、了無希望的幻想故事，感到十分驚訝。於是在心中自然地浮現了一個疑問，也就是「為了什麼他一定要寫出這樣的小說？」

The protagonist of the story is a young scholar who leaves his homeland in the north and travels to a foreign land in the south. There something unexpected happens and he loses his shadow. He is upset and confused, of course, but eventually he manages to cultivate a new shadow and return safely home. Later on, though, his lost shadow makes its way back to him. His old shadow had, in the meanwhile, gained wisdom and power and had become independent, and financially and socially was now far more prominent than its former master. The shadow and its former master had traded places, in other words. The shadow was now the master, the master a shadow. The shadow now falls in love with a beautiful princess from another land and becomes the king there. And the former master, the one who knows his past as a shadow, ends up being murdered. The shadow survives, achieving great success, while his former master, the human being, is sadly extinguished.

小說的主人翁是一位離開北方故鄉，前往南方國家旅行的年輕學者。而在旅途中發生了令人意想不到的事：他的失去了自己的影子。當然，感到十分心煩意亂與無限的慌張的他，試圖想辦法重新替自己在創造出了新的影子，接著平安回到故鄉。然而，之後，他失去的影子卻回到他身邊。在這段期間，舊影子有了智慧和力量，變的獨立了；如今不論是從經濟上、社會上來，都比原來的主人更卓越。換言之，影子和主人的立場互換了。現在影子變成了主人，主人變成了影子。影子愛上了別國美麗的公主，並變成了那一國的國王。而知道影子一切過往的主人翁最後也被影子謀殺了。舊影子活了下來，獲得偉大的成就；而身為人類的他的前主人則悲哀地消失無蹤，如同根本不存在這個世界上。 I have no idea what sort of readers Andersen had in mind when he wrote this story, but in it we can see, I think, how Andersen the fairy tale writer, abandoned the framework he'd worked with up till then, namely writing tales for children, and instead borrowed the format of an allegory for adults, and attempted to boldly pour out his heart as a free individual.

我並不知道安徒生在寫這篇小說時，設定哪些人為讀者。但是我從中得到的是，擅長寫童話的安徒生，捨棄了既有的寫作框架，也就是寫給小孩子看的故事的手法，取而代之使用了讓成人看的寓言形式，以一個自由的個人，大膽地吐露心聲。

I'd like to talk about myself here. 接下來我談一下自己。

I don't plan out a plot as I write a novel. My starting point for writing a novel is always a single scene or idea that comes to me. And as I write, I let that scene or idea move forward of its own accord. Instead of using my head, in other words, it's through moving my hand in the process of writing that I think. In those times I value what's in my unconscious above what's in my conscious mind.

我在寫小說時，並不會事先擬好故事的情節概要。我都是在下筆時，寫出浮現腦海的一個場景與想法，一致性的緩緩的向後發展，然後一邊寫一邊將發展下去。也就是說，我在寫作時，是邊提筆邊用手思考的；不是用表面上的意識思考，反而是那些我沒有注意到深深埋藏於內心底層的潛意識運作。 So when I write a novel I don't know what's going to happen next in the story. And neither do I know how it's going to end. As I write, I witness what happens next. For me, then, writing a novel is a journey of discovery. Just as children listening to a story eagerly wonder what's going to happen next, I have the same exact feeling of excitement as I write.

也因此，當我在寫小說時，我並不知道接下來的故事情節會如何發展，同樣的我也不知道結局將會走向何方。當我提筆寫作的當下，我才能如臨現場目睹將下來一切將發生的事物。對我而言，寫小說就像一趟發現之旅，宛如小朋友專注且興奮地聆聽著故事的後續發展般，我在寫小說時也是抱著一模一樣的興奮感。

As I read “The Shadow," the first impression I had was that Andersen, too, wrote it in order to “discover" something. Also, I don't think he had an idea at the beginning of how the story was going to end. I get the sense that he had the notion of your shadow leaving you, and used that as his starting point to write the story, and wrote it without knowing how it would turn out.

在閱讀《影子》時，我的直覺告訴我，安徒生應該也是「發現」了什麼，才會寫下這故事。而且我認為，安徒生一開始也不知道故事的開頭與結尾會如何發展。我的猜測是，安徒生用「你的影子離你而去」這想法作為故事的出發點，他並不知道故事會如何發展，就這樣寫下去。

Most critics nowadays, and quite a number of readers, tend to read stories in an analytical way. They are trained in schools, or by society, that that's the correct reading methodology. People analyze, and critique, texts, from an academic perspective, a sociological perspective, or a psychoanalytic perspective.

今天，幾乎所有的評論家和相當大部分的讀者，都用分析的角度在讀故事。因為學校教我們這是正確的讀書方式，或者說，進入了社會的人們也是漸漸習慣於這樣的被馴服、被訓練。於是大多數的人們，都用學術、社會學及精神分析的角度來分析、批評各式文本中的故事。

The thing is, if a novelist tries to construct a story analytically, the story's inherent vitality will be lost. Empathy between writer and readers won't arise. Often we see that the novels that critics rave about are ones readers don't particularly like, but in many cases it's because works that critics see as analytically excellent fail to win the natural empathy of readers.

然而，若小說家用分析的手法去建構一個故事，故事將失去內在源源不絕的生命力，作者與讀者將無法共鳴。就算是被評論家讚賞的小說家，也常不受讀者青睞。因為許多情況，都是評論家「分析」一部作品後，認為很傑出，但讀者讀了後，卻無法自然產生共鳴。 In Andersen's “The Shadow" we see traces of a journey of self discovery that thrusts aside that kind of easy analysis. This couldn't have been an easy journey for Andersen, since it involved discovering and seeing his own shadow, the unseen side of himself he would want to avoid looking at. But as an honest, faithful writer Andersen confronted that shadow directly in the midst of chaos and fearlessly forged ahead.

在安徒生的《影子》中，所留下的「自我發現之旅」線索，並不能用分析的方式去領悟。因為對安徒生而言，必定不是一趟輕鬆的旅程，因為得發現並正視自己的影子，及自己一直隱藏、不想面對的那一面。但是正直坦率的創作者安徒生決定在混沌中與影子直接對決，完全不退縮、無畏的緩緩前行。

When I write novels myself, as I pass through the dark tunnel of narrative I encounter a totally unexpected vision of myself, which must be my own shadow. What's required of me then is to portray this shadow as accurately, and candidly, as I can. Not turning away from it. Not analyzing it logically, but rather accepting it as a part of myself. But it won't do to lose out to the shadow's power. You have to absorb that shadow, and without losing your identity as a person, take it inside you as something that is a part of you. You experience that process together with your readers. And share that sensation with them. That's one of the vital roles for a novelist. 我自己在寫小說時，也會穿越故事中的黑暗隧道，去邂逅完全想像不到、意想不到的光景，而這一面一定就是我的影子。對我而言，最重要的是盡可能正確且坦白的描述這個影子，不要從影子逃開、沒有論理分析，把它當成自己的一部分去接納它。但這並非向影子強大的力量屈服，而是不捨棄身為人的原則，去接納影子，把它當成自己的一部分，將它融入自我內部。和讀者一起去體驗這過程，並且把這感覺與讀者們共有，這才是小說家最重要的任務。

In the nineteenth century, when Andersen lived, and in the twenty-first, our own century, we have to, when necessary, face our own shadows, confront them, and sometimes even work with them. That requires the right kind of wisdom and courage. Of course it's not an easy task. Sometimes dangers arise. But if they avoid it people won't be able to truly grow and mature. Worst case, they will end up like the scholar in the story “The Shadow," destroyed by their own shadow.

不論是在安徒生生活的19世紀、或是在我們現在的21世紀，必要時我們都得正視自己的影子並與之對決、有時候則不得不和影子互相協力。這需要正確的智慧與勇氣。當然這並非容易的任務，有時還會有危險，但一旦逃避，人們就無法真正成長、成熟，最糟糕的情況是，將像《影子》中的學者般，最後被自己的影子摧毀。

It's not just individuals who need to face their shadows. The same act is necessary for societies and nations. Just as all people have shadows, every society and nation, too, has shadows. If there are bright, shining aspects, there will definitely be a counterbalancing dark side. If there's a positive, there will surely be a negative on the reverse side.

需要跟自己影子對決的不單只是個人，對社會、國家而言，也是必要的行為。就像每個人都有影子般，不管怎樣的社會、國家也都有它的影子。有光明面，當然也有與之抗衡的黑暗面；有正向的積極面，就必定也有負向的消極面在另一端。

At times we tend to avert our eyes from the shadow, those negative parts. Or else try to forcibly eliminate those aspects. Because people want to avoid, as much as possible, looking at their own dark sides, their negative qualities. But in order for a statue to appear solid and three-dimensional, you need to have shadows. Do away with shadows and all you end up with is a flat illusion. Light that doesn't generate shadows is not true light.

而我們常會把視線從影子的消極面部分移開，或是強迫自己要把這部分移除。正是因為人們一向都盡可能地想閃避自己的黑暗、消極。但就如同為了要使一座雕像呈現出堅固、立體的模樣，那麼前提也必須要有影子才行。然而一旦把影子排除，將只會剩下淺薄的幻想，不會帶來影子的光，不是真正的光。 No matter how high a wall we build to keep intruders out, no matter how strictly we exclude outsiders, no matter how much we rewrite history to suit us, we just end up damaging and hurting ourselves. You have to patiently learn to live together with your shadow. And carefully observe the darkness that resides within you. Sometimes in a dark tunnel you have to confront your own dark side. If you don't, before long your shadow will grow ever stronger and will return, some night, to knock at the door of your house. “I'm back," it'll whisper to you. 不論我們建起多麼高聳的壁壘城牆來阻卻侵入者，不論我們多麼嚴厲的排除那些外來者，不論我們重新改寫歷史僅僅是為了符合我們己身的利益，到頭來，我們造成的結果總是不斷的侵害與傷害我們自己本身。必要時，也不得不在黑暗的隧道中，與自己的影子對決。如果不這樣做，影子最後將變得無比強大，然後在某一天晚上回來，敲著你家的門扉、在你耳邊低語「我回來了。」

Outstanding stories can teach us many things. Lessons that transcend time periods and cultures.

傑出的小說往往會教我們許多東西，而超越時代與文化的是教訓。