異化與神秘化的空間：以查爾斯•狄更斯《遠大前程》為例

Abstract

《遠大的前程》(Great Expectations) 是英國作家查爾斯•狄更斯(Charles Dickens) 在1861年所撰寫的作品，文本主要有三篇，深刻描繪維多利亞時期資本主義興盛的時代，以及敘述孤兒皮普成長的空間。然而，Alan Lelchuk、 J. Hillis Miller、Rosa Mucignat等評論家主張《遠大的前程》是一部以主角為主的空間，而忽略其他角色的重要性。儘管世上已有眾多以空間的研究存在，大部分的人卻忽略資本主義在文本中的重要性。因此，我認為《遠大的前程》仍有進一步探討的可能，藉由分析資本主義與空間之間的強大聯繫，我主張文中的次等角色和主角同樣具有代表性，文本不僅描述空間在文中代表的意義，同時藉由空間來談論資本主義。這部作品不僅是維多利亞時期的代表作，同時也是一部有空間與資本主義的文本。

本論文共分為三章，第一章探討文本中的空間和資本主義的關聯性，以彰顯空間與資本的重要性。第二章以絕對空間(absolute space)為基礎，分析文中的家庭生活與娛樂，以展示異化(alienation)的重要性。第三章以相對空間(relative space)為出發點，解析商品拜物教(commodity fetishism)，突顯神秘化(mystification)的運作方式。三章分別描述資本空間的重要性。本碩士論文試圖探討空間與資本主義在文本中呈現，藉由參考大衛•哈維(David Harvey)的《社會正義與城市》(The Social Justice and the City)，以及採用列斐伏爾(Henri Lefebvre) 的《日常生活批判理論》(Critique of Everyday Life)，這份研究希望能提升空間在文本的重要性，並賦予《遠大的前程》以往不同的解讀。

Great Expectations, written by Charles Dickens in 1861, vividly demonstrates space as a social product to expose the dynamics of capitalism, alienation and mystification. Dickens’ narrative is published in the era of industrialization. Nevertheless, most critics, such as Alan Lelchuk, J. Hillis Miller, Rosa Mucignat, and many others have focused on the spatial reading of Pip, overlooking the importance of secondary characters and the aspects of capitalism in the novel. However, despite the multiple spatial aspects presented in the fiction, I believe that Dickens presents a strong connection with capitalism that can be further examined. I aim to approach the work with the notion that the peripheral figures are as significant as the protagonist. Dickens’ fiction not only provides a spatial image of alienation and mystification in capitalism, but also emphasizes the importance of secondary characters, revealing space as socially constructed.

This thesis consists of three chapters. Chapter One discusses the connection between space and capitalism to explain the spatial framework that is applied to analyze the thesis. Chapter Two is based on the concept of absolute space to analyze the feelings of alienation in family life and leisure. Chapter Three uses the concept of relative space to examine the mechanism of mystification. All three chapters are dedicated to examining the social roles of different characters and the dynamics of space to emphasize their importance in the novel. This thesis aims to explore the role of space by employing a Marxist reading of Great Expectations. Drawing on Lefebvre’s Critique of Everyday Life and David Harvey’s Social Justice and the City, I contend that the novel cleverly illustrates multiple characters to expose the dynamics of alienation and mystification in a capitalist society.