著者

野中 進

出版者

東京大学大学院人文社会系研究科スラヴ語スラヴ文学研究室

雑誌

Slavistika : 東京大学大学院人文社会系研究科スラヴ語スラヴ文学研究室年報

巻号頁・発行日

no.35, pp.359-371, 2020

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The article examines a very famous phrase from N. Gogol "What are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourself!" («The Inspector General», 5th Act) in comparison with as famous as the phrase by Horace "Quid rides? Mutato nomine, de te fabula narrator (Why do you laugh? Change only the name and this story is about you)" («Satires», I, 1, 69–70). Although it is impossible to prove Gogol's allusion to Horace, we should pay attention to the similarity of their phrases, which is worth a "typological" comparison. It is the idea of reflexivity of laugh that makes these phrases similar in their message. As is well known, notions such as "reflexivity" (A. Giddens) or "the second-order observation" (N. Luhman) are regarded as essential features of modernity. Horace's and Gogol's phrases present a version of reflexivity in that those who laugh at someone or something else, understand their laugh returns to themselves. Thus, being comical or ironical plays an important role in helping us see ourselves in the way we reflect what and how we are doing. In the second half of the essay we pay attention to the spreading and perception of Horace's and Gogol's phrases. The Japanese writer Soseki Natsume (1867–1916) wrote a novel called "Sanshiro" which depicts an episode where university students gather to have a party. At this party, one student makes fun repeating Horace's phrase «De te fabula» without, as it seems, fully understanding its meaning. The episode shows the young Japanese elite who regard themselves leaders of the modernization of Japan actually failing to understand European culture and the meaning of modernization. Soseki believed that they would encounter the problem of modernization more deeply than he ironically dipicted in his novel. The modern Chinese writer Lu Xun (1881–1936) gives an interesting example of Gogol's influence. He explains his methodology of literature in that he tries to make his readers see themselves as the protagonists in situations depicted humorously in his works. In this context he refers to Gogol's phrase "You are laughing at yourself". These two examples of the perception of Horace's and Gogol's phrases in East Asia show how they spread among those countries which found themselves «late starters» of modernization. One of their tasks is to develop their own modernization and modernity, not to imitate those of the forerunners, i.e. Western Europe. For that purpose it is important to understand and develop the idea of reflexvity which they thought belongs to the main ideas of modernization.[寄稿]