- 期刊
A Transparent Narrator? The Multi-Effects of Sensible Deduction in Sarah Waters' The Little Stranger
客觀透明的敘述者？莎拉．華特斯《小陌生人》的理性論證與其多重效應
摘要
The Little Stranger (2009) describes the old gentry Ayres family in Hundreds Hall, an 18th century magnificent estate that has lasted long past its former glory in the late 1940s Warwickshire. Faraday, a country physician with a humble background, is summoned to treat a new young maid, Betty, who play-acts ill due to her dislike for the large, draughty emptiness of the house. Through deliberate contacts with the Ayres family, Faraday gradually befriends them. Yet his frequent visits and aggressive interference with household affairs are later followed by a few unnatural things. Confronted with these paranormal phenomena, Faraday always offers a rational answer for everything. Since the house is intertwined and laden with confidences and tricks, as if there is a sinister presence, the family members lapse into their underlying fear and anxiety so that their lives unpredictably fall apart. This paper endeavours to explore the deductions and to assert the potential desire within those deductions and their succeeding effects in The Little Stranger.
並列摘要
《小陌生人》為英國小說家莎拉．華特斯的第五部作品，描述喬治亞王朝時期建造的豪翠山莊，莊園設計輝煌氣派，但因艾瑞斯家族無法繼續負擔其鉅額開銷，逐漸傾頹衰敗的故事。卡洛琳．艾瑞斯與弟弟羅迪以及母親三人同住於豪翠山莊中，出身卑微的鎮上醫生法拉第被請至莊園治療新女傭貝蒂，進而治療羅迪因戰爭從軍的腿傷宿疾。法拉第醫生刻意接觸艾瑞斯家族，然而他頻繁訪問與參與山莊事務後，卻導致眾多怪異現象發生：溫和的家犬突然攻擊家庭宴會的訪客女孩，牆上出現奇怪的黑色字跡，廢棄已久的僕人鈴無故響起等等。本文探討法拉第醫生看似全然客觀透明的理性論證，對每件發生於山莊中與艾瑞斯家族成員身上的怪異現象分析有條有理且提供解決方案，背後卻暗藏了他長久以來如鬼魅一般，企圖主導支配豪翠山莊的強烈階級慾望，使得艾瑞斯家族不可避免地走向破碎與毀滅的命運。