甘爲他者盤飧馬夏•諾曼《晚安，媽》劇中之自殺以求重生

Eaten by the Other Killing to Call for Resurrection in Marsha Norman's 'night, Mother

黃仕宜(Shih-Yi Huang)

《英美文學評論》 9期 (2006/03) Pp. 181-203

https://doi.org/10.6711/REAL.200603_(9).0007

摘要

本論文旨在探討馬夏•諾曼《晚安，媽》劇中的潔西，如何藉由歸順死神重寫主流社會關係下的個人生命意義。一旦發現死亡成爲交換價值的最高階時，潔西發現那也是唯一可以獲得自尊之處。此論文包含兩部分，分別說明吞噬潔西的「他者」（意指「死亡」）之外在與內在面貌。本文主張唯有獲得無法以交換價值衡量的自尊，才得以撐起潔西殘破的自我概念。而只有死亡，才能助她超越大食物鏈而獲得自尊。首先，啃噬潔西的「他者」的內在面貌，來自於她的癲癇。此「他者」活躍於她的生命，猶如另一個共享身軀的黑暗自我，進而吞食她自主的可能性。「他者」的外在面目與內在不同，這與潔西身爲一個消費者的地位有關。此處著重於：在一個以價值爲交換度量衡的社會關係下，假設一個人負有極少可交換的資源，則她被「消費掉」（被利用、剝削）的可能性相對較大。很遺憾的，潔西便屬此例。她明瞭到自己的生命將被限制在無能爲力、貧乏的境地，爲了不被吃掉，並免於活在被消費、被吞食、被利用及被同化的恐懼下，潔西超越了食物鏈的運行規則，以重獲自尊跟完整的主體。

關鍵字

晚安，媽 ； 馬夏•諾曼 ； 自殺 ； 重生 ； 消費 ； 他者

並列摘要

This paper argues that Jessie in Marsha Norman's 'night, Mother re-inscribes her existence under oppressive social relations by submitting to the Other, by which I mean death. By putting death on the highest rung of the ladder of exchange value, Jessie finds it the only place where dignity can be obtained. The paper, illustrating the internal and external agencies of the Other that consumes Jessie, argues that, in embracing the Other (the death), she puts herself at the summit of the great chain of being, where the unexchangeable value of dignity restores her dilapidated subjectivity. The internal agency of the Other that eats Jessie from within comes from Jessie's epilepsy, which stands in her way to construct subjectivity. The external agencies of the Other have something to do with Jessie's status as a consumer, if not as an all-time prey. To survive, Jessie puts herself on the summit of the chain to regain her subjectivity and dignity.

並列關鍵字

night ； Mother ； Marsha Norman ； suicide ； resurrection ； consume ； the Other