柯慈的陰性書寫與女性敘事者：《仇敵》與《鐵器時代》的比較

Abstract

本論文旨要探討柯慈如何在《仇敵》與《鐵器時代》裡呼應西蘇「陰性書寫」的概念。身為一個男性作家，柯慈將如何呈現女性特有的性別經驗？為了更進一步闡述我的論點，本論文將分成三個章節作討論。第一章以女性敘事者蘇珊巴頓與伊莉莎白柯倫的書寫為中心，呈現角色所建立的兩種關係：第一種為「作者—敘事者/伴侶—媒介/讀者—接收者」的三角關係，第二種為類似「父親—母親—女兒」的擬態家庭關係。前者指出角色如何建立「書寫的主體」與「書寫過程的參與者」之間的關係，後者則指出角色如何在「家庭」的架構下建立人際關係，並打破傳統家庭思維。第二章著重於柯慈如何運用他「富同情心的想像」來描繪女性特有的性別經驗，同時也將這些女性經驗和書寫結合，呼應出西蘇「陰性書寫」的概念。第三章揭露柯慈另一項挑戰父權制度的做法：「性別交互滲透」，這個概念顛覆傳統性別二元觀，創造了性別流動的可能性，男性也可以陰柔，女性也可以陽剛。透過上述三項分析，柯慈展現了他對女性的關懷。不可否認地，身為男性作家，對於陰性書寫，柯慈仍有他的侷限性。然而，如同西蘇一直強調的，陰性書寫本來就不該被其名稱所桎梏，作家性別並不是決定其作品是否為陰性書寫的主要因素。藉著挑戰父權制度、書寫女性經驗以及顛覆性別刻板印象，柯慈的《仇敵》與《鐵器時代》可以被歸類到陰性書寫的範疇裡。This thesis aims to examine how Coetzee’s Foe and Age of Iron correspond to Hélène Cixous’s conception of feminine writing. As a male author, how does Coetzee present women’s sex-specific experiences? To further demonstrate my assertion, my thesis contains three chapters. In Chapter One, I show two geometric relationships to clarify how characters build relationships by means of the female narrators’ writings. One is the triangular “narrator-writer/medium-companion/narratee-reader” structure, and the other is the father-mother-daughter quasi-family relationship. The former one shows how characters form a relationship of “mediating agents and participating actors,” and the latter one indicates how characters build “personal relationship within the context of family,” breaking down the traditional triangular structurality of the family. In Chapter Two, I argue how Coetzee uses his “sympathetic imagination” to delineate women’s sex-specific experiences and relates them to Cixous’s conception of feminine writing. In Chapter Three, I present how Coetzee breaks down the traditional binary values of man/masculine and woman/feminine and creates the possibility of gender fluidity. Man can be feminine, and woman can be masculine. In the light of my arguments above, Coetzee shows his deep concern for the feminine. It is undeniable that, as a man, Coetzee has his limits of presenting feminine writing to its fullest extent; however, as Cixous has emphasized, feminine writing should not be trapped by its name. The author’s biological sex is definitely not the crucial point to define feminine writing. By challenging the patriarchal system, delineating women’s sex-specific experiences and breaking down the traditional gender confinements, Coetzee’s Foe and Age of Iron could be legitimately considered as feminine writing.