Male Bonding as a Theme in Oscar Wilde's ＂An Ideal Husband＂

論奧斯卡‧王爾德《理想丈夫》中的男性同盟

鍾淑玫(Shu-Mei Chung)

《藝術與文化論衡》 3期 (2013/12) Pp. 79-89

摘要

本文旨在分析奧斯卡．王爾德《理想丈夫》中的男性同盟關係。此劇作出版於1899年，劇中對於微妙的兩性關係、男性之間的親密友誼與維多利亞時期上流社會女性對於完美丈夫的過度期盼等所呈現之觀察，在今日女性意識抬頭的年代裡，看起來似乎更有趣且值得加以檢視。《理想丈夫》此劇並非意在貶低或嘲諷維多利亞時期女性對於追求婚姻幸福的執著，而是為她們揭示另一種深入了解婚姻幸福對她們另一半來說意味為何的可能性。也就是說，男人們不僅渴望能從異性／婚姻關係中得到愛，也同時希望能獲得他們男性同盟的互相精神支持，女人也是如此。本文將不會針對此劇中任何男性關係中看似女性化之處多所著墨，而是希冀能呈現出男性同盟關係對男性／丈夫的重要性，就像所有其他的人際關係一樣，這是男人理應得到的，也是王爾德作品中諸多關注的主題之一。

關鍵字

男性同盟 ； 女性意識 ； 維多利亞時期女性 ； 陰柔氣質

並列摘要

This essay aims at analyzing the theme of male bonding inferred in Oscar Wilde's ＂An Ideal Husband＂. First published in 1899, the play has an explicit observation on tricky relationship between two sexes, close friendship between the males and upper-class Victorian women's over-expectation of a perfect husband, which seems more intriguing and thus worth of examination in this age of up-surging feminist consciousness. ＂An Ideal Husband＂ does not underestimate or mock Victorian women's beliefs on pursuing their happiness in marriage, but opens a possibility for them to comprehend what marital happiness means to their spouses. That is, men not only yearn for love from their heterosexual/marital relations but also require spiritual support from their male bonding, and vice versa. Instead of searching for any plausible images of effeminacy on the relationships between men in the play, this article expects to assert that male bonding, like all other human relationships, is surely deserved by men and also one of the main concerns in Wilde's works.

並列關鍵字

male bonding ； feminist consciousness ； Victorian women ； effeminacy