Lyons Martyn
University of New South Wales, Sydney.
Fr Hist. 2003;17(1):79-95. doi: 10.1093/fh/17.1.79.
The years 1914-18 engendered a "sudden and irrepressible boulimia" of letter-writing, a diluvian outpouring which defied all attempts at administrative control. The massive correspondence of French soldiers, analysed and quoted in the archives of the Commission de Contrôle Postal, has already been mined by war historians. They have normally used it to carry out a kind of historical opinion poll on the mood of the trenches. This article, however, focuses less on the content of soldiers' correspondence, and more on the nature and history of letter-writing itself. It examines letters as letters, their frequency, their destinations and all the unwritten codes to which they are subject. At a time of newly acquired mass literacy, the poilus experienced the urgent need to write. Their "laconic writing" raises important questions about historical sources, their transparency and their silences. It also offers a perspective on the much debated integration of the peasantry into national life and culture.
1914年至1918年引发了一场写信的“突然且无法抑制的贪食症”，这是一场如洪水般的倾泻，所有行政控制的尝试都无法阻挡。法国士兵大量的信件往来，在邮政控制委员会的档案中得到分析和引用，战争史学家们已经对其进行了挖掘。他们通常用这些信件对战壕里士兵的情绪进行一种历史民意调查。然而，本文较少关注士兵信件的内容，而更多关注写信本身的性质和历史。它将信件作为信件来审视，包括信件的频率、目的地以及它们所遵循的所有不成文规则。在大众识字率刚刚提高的时代，法国士兵们迫切需要写信。他们的“简洁写作”引发了关于历史资料、其透明度和沉默之处的重要问题。它还为备受争议的农民融入国家生活和文化提供了一个视角。
