恋爱、交友、阅读,何以解忧.docVIP

恋爱、交友、阅读,何以解忧 　　16世?o的法国作家蒙田说，治愈孤独有三种可能的方法：恋爱、交友和阅读。但他进一步阐释：性爱上的欢愉转瞬即逝，而背叛稀松平常；友情更佳，却会随着其中一方的死亡戛然而止。因此，唯一能伴随终生的疗法就是与文学为伴。原以为阅读只是逃离自我的一种方式，但其实我们是在探索自己内心深处的世界。 　　The understanding that literature can comfort， console and heal has been around since the second millennium1 BC. It is no coincidence that Apollo2 was the god of medicine as well as poetry. 　　As a bibliotherapist， I’m interested in the therapeutic value stories have to offer us，3 particularly during times of stress. Here the intent around reading is different； the value of the story lies solely in our emotional response to it. 　　One of the greatest arguments for using literature as therapy was posited by the Renaissance essayist Michel de Montaigne4， who believed there were three possible cures for loneliness： have a lover， have friends and read books. But he argued sexual pleasure is too fleeting and betrayal too common， and while friendship was better it always ended with death. Therefore， the only therapy that could endure through life was the companionship of literature. 　　Why were the ancient Greeks and Romans right to suppose literature heals the soul？ Why did Montaigne trust we could endure loneliness through a lifelong relationship with books？ Why， despite all the distractions of modern life， do books still get published and writers’ festival events get sold out？ The answer lies in the power of stories. 　　Stories have been around since time began； they tell us what it is to be human， give us a context for the past and an insight towards the future. A narrator’s voice replaces our stressed， internal monologue5 and takes us out of our life and into the world of a story. Paradoxically6， we think we are escaping ourselves but the best stories take us back deeper into our interior worlds. Freud7， who believed the “reading cure” came before the “talking cure”， once wrote that wherever he went he discovered a poet had been there before. It is difficult to access emotional language and this is why we h