朱利安·巴恩斯的《终结的感觉》是一部因伦理身份混乱而引发伦理悲剧的小说。艾德里安的伦理困惑和韦伯斯特的伦理反思表明人类斯芬克斯因子的存在及其复杂性:正是由于“人性因子”和“兽性因子”之间相互交锋与转变,才造成了理性意志、自由意志和非理性意志之间的伦理冲突。本文以文学伦理学批评为研究视角,结合巴恩斯小说的叙事策略,紧扣一封报复书信所引发的一系列伦理变故,窥探小说家的叙事旨趣:叙述者以对过往事件“不可靠式”的追忆为重要铺垫来推动小说的叙事进程,并在“恍然大悟”式的反思中探讨诸如背叛、恐惧、痛苦、绝望、罪恶、责任等伦理命题。
Julian Barnes's The Sense of an Ending is about an ethical tragedy caused by the protagonist's confused ethical identity. Adrian's ethical confusion and Webster's ethical introspection indicate the existence of Sphinx Factor in human mind and its complexity. It is the clash and transformation between human and animal factors that lead to the ethical conflicts among rational will, free will and irrational will. This paper delves into what Barnes's narrative purports to do through analyzing a series of ethical misfortunes caused by a revenge letter. It argues that Barnes uses "unreliable" retrospection to foreshadow the narrative process and tackles through "double take" such ethical issues as betrayal, fear, pain, despair, guilt, and responsibility.