亞瑟米勒《鎔爐》的變異女性情慾之能動性與羨嫉

Abstract

本論文主要以女性主義觀點來解讀在亞瑟米勒《鎔爐》劇中之女巫/女人在父權社會的處境。本文由四個章節所組成，第一章介紹《鎔爐》的時空背景以及探討女巫如何在男性社會中被型塑。第二章則是討論在劇中女孩們在森林中的聚會與劇中兩名女性主角阿比蓋兒、蒂度帕在劇中所扮演的角色與位置。對於劇中所出現的儀式，就像是一場由女孩轉變成為女人或女巫的成年儀式。因為亞瑟米勒在麥卡錫事件中，被視為污名化的一員，因此他就將自身經歷過的苦難投射於此劇中。不管是被指控與惡魔或撒旦有秘密契約的女巫們或是指控他人為女巫的女孩們皆是父權社會下的犧牲者。第三章則著重於獵殺女巫以及集體歇斯底里。這章節大略地描述了獵殺女巫的時空背景、歷史以及與性別的關係。除此之外，也闡述了這些女孩們如何透過表演歇斯底里成為她們反抗父權的自我保護機制。第四章，總結前三章的論述並重新界定女巫的身分，希望在女巫污名化的稱謂下，重新找回女人專屬的能動性與情慾世界。

This thesis is composed of four chapters. In chapter one, I will briefly deal with the background of The Crucible and investigates how those witches have been shaped by male dominators and how they have been viewed by the audience. Chapter Two discusses about a ritual in the forest and the two female protagonists Tituba and Abigail. The ritual or a group of female’s gathering in The Crucible is, in my view, like an initiation of being witches. Furthermore, I would elaborate the roles the Tituba and Abigail play in this play. Since Arthur Miller has been demonized in the 50’s Marcarthysim witch-hunt, he projects his own experience onto women/ girls in The Crucible: the women who have been accused of being witches and the girls who accuse them of having covenant with the Devil are both the victims under the patriarchal society. When encountering public terror, how people who are involved in this affair, such as Abigail and Tituba, balance the contention of parties, the patriarchal side and the women’s side? Which side would they choose to take? Chapter Three focuses on witch-hunt and mass hysteria. I would briefly describe background and history about witch-hunt and the relationship between gender and witch-hunt. More than that, I would illustrate how the girls play their game--mass hysteria, to prevent themselves from being convicted. In the last chapter, I will conclude my thesis and redefine what a witch is, and then, hopefully, retrieve the female dynamics and sexuality underneath the stigmatized “witches.”