International Journal of Geographical and Spatial Studies
JGSS Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp. 86-93.
Print ISSN: 3105-1294; Online ISSN: 3105-1308
Journal homepage: https://www.gssjournal.com
DOI：https://doi.org/10.64058/JGSS.26.1.08
“漩涡”的启示：混沌空间与理性边界的文学表征
田 颖（TIAN Ying），李 爽（LI Shuang）
摘要：在《莫斯肯漩涡沉浮记》中，爱伦·坡借“漩涡”意象深刻质询了19世纪西方科学理性主义的认知模式。既有研究多从美学、历史、哲学等维度解读这篇小说，却较少关注“漩涡”这一意象的认识论内涵。本文从“混沌”概念入手，从科学理性的视角，试图论证坡如何利用“漩涡”的“混沌”特征展开对西方科学理性主义认知模式的批判。坡的空间叙事并非为了提供更“精确”的世界图景，而是通过探寻空间表征的局限性，守护被科学理性排除的感性经验与认知焦虑。坡通过空间叙事标注的不是通往新世界的航线指南，而是人类认知不可逾越的边界。
关键词： 爱伦·坡；漩涡；科学理性；混沌；表征边界
作者简介：田颖（通讯作者），杭州师范大学外国语学院教授，研究方向为文学绘图学，电邮为yingtian@hznu.edu.cn；李爽，杭州师范大学外国语学院比较文学与跨文化研究专业硕士研究生，研究方向为文学绘图学，电邮为15957166735@163.com。
Title: The Implication of the Maelstrom: Literary Representation of Chaotic Space and the Boundary of Reason— A Case Study of Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Descent into the Maelström”
Abstract: In “A Descent into the Maelström”, Edgar Allan Poe holds an inquiry into the cognitive model of nineteenth-century Western scientific rationalism through the image of the Maelstrom. While academia has predominantly interpreted this novel from the aesthetic, historical, and philosophical perspectives, insufficient attention has been paid to the epistemological implications of the Maelstrom itself. Drawing on the concept of “chaos”, this paper examines, through the lens of scientific rationalism, how Poe employs the chaotic characteristics of the Maelstrom to question the cognitive model of Western scientific rationalism. This paper argues that Poe’s spatial narrative does not seek to present a more “accurate” vision of the world. Instead, by probing the limits of spatial representation, he preserves the sensory experiences and epistemic anxieties marginalized by scientific rationality. Through Poe’s spatial narrative, he does not mark a route to a new world, but rather, the insurmountable boundary of human cognition.
Keywords: Edgar Allan Poe; maelstrom; Scientific Rationality; chaos; boundary of representation
Author Biographies：TIAN Ying (Corresponding Author), Professor at the School of International Studies, Hangzhou Normal University. Her research focuses on literary cartography. Email: yingtian@hznu.edu.cn. LI Shuang, master’s candidate at the School of International Studies in Hangzhou Normal University, specializing in Comparative Literature and Cross-Cultural Studies. Her research focuses on literary cartography. Email: 15957166735@163.com
Received: 10 Mar 2026 / Revised: 26 Apr 2026 / Accepted: 30 Apr 2026 / Published online: 30 May 2026 / Print published: 30 Jun 2026.
