Fearful Realty: "The Ghostly Rental" and "His Apparition"

本論文討論兩篇十九世紀後期的美國小說－詹姆士的〈鬼屋出租〉與郝渥斯的〈他的幽靈〉－並特別著眼於其中鬼屋交易的情節。這兩篇小說中描繪對於私有財產權與繼承權遭受侵害卻缺乏司法救濟途徑的無力感，一方面承襲了志異文學對於社會與道德秩序崩毀的擔憂，另一方面也呼應了志異文學對於「身份」的關注，因爲「身份」在美國社會中尤其與「身價」息息相關。鬼屋故事在此一時代別具意義的另一個原因，則是因爲此時既被稱爲「自有住宅的黃金時代」，又同時有「房荒」的問題，再加上經濟發展下的房價波動，與市場經濟導致道德責任的擴張，房地產交易隱含的財務與道德風險更增房產買方與租方的焦慮。〈鬼屋出租〉凸顯出惡房客與惡房東的對立，以及威權保守的嚴父與自力更生的女兒的衝突，但真正的不安源自於對貧窮和綁死的契約關係的恐懼，而所謂的鬼魂糾纏和靈異經驗更直接挑戰隱私權與私有財產權。〈他的幽靈〉中的鬼魂則猶如難以掌握的創作素材，男主角反覆講述仍不成個故事，直到他未來的妻子扮演他理想的聽眾，鬼魂乃在他的愛情故事中化身爲媒妁；而這個中產階級的守護天使更爲他們驅逐了貪婪卑鄙的屋主，順便還把房價貶抑到男主角能力所及的範圍。就志異文學的發展而言，詹姆士雖藉由房屋租賃關係來影射家族的財務利益衝突，但郝渥斯更能掌握鬼屋交易中不確定的市場風險由不確定的對象承擔所衍生的焦慮感。兩位小說家改寫傳統的鬼屋故事，以其一貫的多義風格與反諷手法，針對當時的世道人心提出針砭。

關鍵字

亨利•詹姆士；鬼屋出租； W.D.郝渥斯；他的幽靈；鬼故事；鬼屋；市場經濟

並列摘要

This paper looks at two ghost stories from the late nineteenth century-Henry James' ”The Ghostly Rental” and W. D. Howells' ”His Apparition”-in which people deal with the more mercenary aspects of owning haunted houses. The tales share with earlier Gothic fiction the anxiety over the breakdown of social order and moral chaos-in this case the infringement on private property rights and succession rights without legal remedy. At the same time they echo the traditional Gothic concern over identity, a significant part of which depends on property in American society. Real estate horror stories especially touched a cord with the reader in the late nineteenth century, however, because the age was called ”the golden age of housing for the common man” on the one hand, yet also noted for the so-called ”housing famine” on the other. Unstable property values due to economic developments and expanding moral perceptions coming from a market economy both added further to the worries over the financial wisdom and the ethical implications of real estate transactions. James' tale plays with the conflict between the Tenant from Hell and the Landlord from Hell, while highlighting the familial conflict between the moralistically stern father and the financially independent daughter. The real horror as James depicts it is poverty and entrapment in business relations, while the haunting and the sighting both challenge property rights and privacy. Howells' novella, in comparison, presents the apparition as elusive story material which the hero reshapes over and over with little satisfaction-until he finds the ideal audience in his future wife and thus gives the apparition the role of matchmaker in his own romance. As the guardian angel of the middleclass family, the specter helps exorcise the unbefitting original owner and knocks down the real estate value to the hero's price range. Placed in the Gothic tradition, James' story marks a transitional stage where the haunted ancestral hall is still used as a metaphor for the strife between family members, though the rental brings to light the economic nature of the conflict. Howells' transaction between unrelated characters, meanwhile, underscores the new anxiety over random victimization due to uncertain market factors. The two novelists, with their signature ambiguity and goodhumored irony, revise the conventional haunted house story to illustrate the haunting housing problems and transitional ethos of the age.

並列關鍵字

Henry James ； The Ghostly Rental ； William Dean Howells ； His Apparition ； ghost story ； haunted house ； market economy

參考文獻

Andreach, Robert J.(1967).Literary Allusion as a Clue to Meaning: James's 'The Ghostly Rental' and Pascal's Pensees.Comparative Literature Studies.4(3),299-306.