本文透過探討瑪格麗特.愛特伍的小說《使女的故事》中的衣服寫作方式,來理解物質在寫作中扮演的角色。愛特伍的創作總是與她筆下的衣物描寫無法分割,故本文首先透過展示愛特伍本身與衣物的關係,以及探討愛特伍許多作品中各種樣態的衣物呈現手法,進而探討愛特伍如何將其對於衣物具體的知識展現在小說中的衣物描繪,使其作為一種物質在寫作中發揮影響力。本文透過詹姆斯吉伯森(James Gibson)的承擔特質理論(Affordance Theory)來檢視衣服作為一種物質與角色之間的互動產生的動態,不同的衣服以其物質性介入角色之間的影響力,以及作為一種權力關係流動的表現。最後本文也將分析愛特伍如何將衣物作為一種帶有物質性的寫作工具,來彰顯角色跟刻畫劇情。
This research aims to explore the role clothing plays in the most representative novel of Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). Atwood’s writing is inseparable from the clothing depicted in her works. The thesis first introduces Atwood’s relationship with the clothing itself and the way she describes and uses clothing in many of her works, to show the importance of reading the clothing to understand The Handmaid’s Tale. After that, with James Gibson’s affordance theory, this thesis will examine how clothing affects the characters and becomes an important material in the interaction between different characters. This thesis further analyzes how Atwood uses clothing as a writing material to shape her characters and weaves her story.