逃亡╱避之迷魅：安．瑞克麗芙《烏多夫堡秘辛》之互文閱讀

Abstract

本論文旨在探討安•瑞克麗芙最著名的作品《烏多夫堡秘辛》中逃亡╱避之主題。逃亡╱避並不僅僅侷限於小說中女主角逃離匪徒的逃離過程，更影射了一種看似柔順屈服、實則游離閃避的心理狀態，策略性地回應了十八世紀社會所期望的女性美德。當發生在哥德式小說中時，這些逃亡的片段反映了女性憂懼、躲避、隱匿自身的集體經驗；從而逃離，又顯示了反抗父權暴虐統治的勇氣。然而當發生在現實讀者閱讀哥德式小說的經驗中時，閱讀小說的逃避行為卻被加以譴責，被認為是任意拋棄家事的本分、具有規避責任的傾向、甚至是代表了低俗的文學品味。本論文試圖分析對於哥德式小說中逃亡╱避的兩種對立看法，探討究竟逃亡╱避是消極的處事行為、抑或是潛有隱性的反叛力量。除了《烏多夫堡秘辛》之外，本論文也將納入《僧侶》、《義大利人》、《諾桑覺寺》等三部小說中逃亡片段的互文閱讀，藉此探討同時代作者與文本間的辯證與互動。筆者將聚焦於三個層面——敘事模式的懸疑手法、文本腳色的逃亡案例、以及讀者的逃避傾向——藉此探析作者╱文本╱讀者三方面錯綜複雜的關係，從而帶出十八世紀女性在家庭與社會中扮演的角色地位之辯；這些議題直到二十一世紀的今天，依然和我們息息相關。

This thesis aims to explore the theme of “escape” in Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho. By exploring this theme in Radcliffe’s most famous Gothic novel, I argue that the definition of escape does not limit to the heroine’s flight from the Gothic villain’s tyrant reign; it also suggests an ostensibly submissive and elusive mentality that strategically responds to the expected feminine virtues in the eighteenth century. When taking place in the Gothic novels, these episodes of escape reflect the collective female experiences of apprehension, avoidance and concealment, and demonstrate the courage to resist patriarchal tyranny by running away; when escape takes place at the level of reading, however, the novel readers’ escapism is often criticized for their wanton abandonment of domestic duties, the tendency to evade responsibilities, or ill literary taste for women’s education. This thesis aims to deal with these two opposite responses towards escape in the Gothic novel, and to decide whether the act of escape encourages passive femininity, or it may contain a latent power of subversion. In addition to Udolpho, this thesis would also provide an intertextual reading between The Monk, The Italian and Northanger Abbey by exploring their respective episodes of escape and the dialectic interaction between contemporary authors and texts. I would focus on the three levels— the narrative’s suspense, the character’s flight, and the reader’s escapism— to bring out the debate over women’s role in the eighteen-century’s family and society, issues that continue to concern us in the twenty-first century today.