Coercion and Docility in Samuel Beckett's Rough for Radio II and What Where

This article considers Foucault's disciplinary power to unravel complex dynamics of power through the exercise of explicit violence in Samuel Beckett's obscure plays Rough for Radio II and What Where. The discussion is twofold: first, I shall explore how coercion is employed in both Rough for Radio II and What Where, and how coercive devices, such as correct training, torture, or interrogation, demand obedience from the subjugated body for manipulation and control. The enforcement of coercion yields docility and aids in its production; therefore, I shall discuss Foucauldian productivity subsequently. If disciplinary power aims to acquire knowledge, then relieving Fox of his animality to restore his memory in Rough for Radio II or producing a confession for the subjugated characters in What Where would be the targeted production of power. Thus, I examine how both plays obtain (or fail to obtain) intelligibility from the subjugated in the employment of power. It is hoped that the attempt to interlace Foucault's theory with Beckett's work to explore complex relations in the tension of power may contribute to reading these plays in a different light.

關鍵字

Rough for Radio II ； What Where ； Beckett ； Foucault ； coercion ； docility

並列摘要

山謬．貝克特(Samuel Beckett)《粗略的廣播劇二》(Rough for Radio II)及《何事．何處》(What Where)兩齣極為隱晦的劇作中，充斥糾正訓練(correct training)、酷刑或審訊的暴力運行。本文取徑米歇爾．傅柯 (Michel Foucault)提出的規訓權力(disciplinary power)理論，以展示劇作中人物錯綜複雜的權力關係。論文分為兩個步驟：首先，探究《粗略的廣播劇二》與《何事．何處》，透過何等暴力規訓的脅迫(coercion)手段，強制執行身體上的順服(docility)，以強化產出(productivity)的功用。再者，探討傅柯式觀點中的權力運作核心與汲取知識的目的，與《粗略的廣播劇二》劇中關鍵人物福克斯(Fox)的動物性(animality)、記憶，及《何事．何處》劇中所有人物所欲得到的供詞之間有何關聯。本文旨在透過分析文本使用暴力的橋段，一窺權力運作的樣貌，以期能提供不同的觀點剖析貝克特這兩齣極其曖昧不明的劇作。