祕密花園：論清代女性彈詞小說中的幽閉空間與心靈活動

Secret Garden: Polysemantic Spaces in Qing Women's Tanci Narratives

胡曉真(Siao-Chen Hu)

《欲掩彌彰：中國歷史文化中的「私」與「情」─私情篇》 2003 (2003/09) Pp. 279-315

https://doi.org/10.29531/siqing.200309.0279

摘要

在我們熟悉的性別與空間論述中，中國傳統女性的正當位置在「內」；因此，私／情等概念也與女性發生了內在的聯繫。然而，從文學的角度來看，女性隱私世界的營造，其實可能發展出超越的意義。明清時期大量湧現的女性作品，洩漏了女性對私密世界的探索經驗與對公眾領域的複雜情緒，其間豐富的情感與想像，實可引領我們重新思考近代中國文化的特質。本文藉由清代特殊的女性書寫形式「彈詞小說」，探討女性私密空間與心靈活動的多重關係。納入詮釋範圍的作品包括《筆生花》以及《金魚緣》。在這些閨秀創作的小說中，「花園」皆為女性角色獨鍾的場所，而成為具有象徵意義的空間。一方面花園在屋舍平面配置中僻處一隅的特質，昭示了女性的邊緣位置，以及其生活空間的閉鎖性；一方面花園又因為地處內／外的交界，而成為誘發女性越界欲望的危險空間；甚至，由於花園與正房屋舍相隔，暗示對俗世義務的疏離，還可以變成女性追求超越經驗的神祕空間。花園承載了如此豐厚的文化意涵，既可象徵女性生命的極度幽閉，也可刺激女性心靈的無限奔馳。這兩種極端的拉鋸張力，為研究者提供了寬廣的詮釋空間。同時，本文也將探討女性如何在生命與文本中營造由私人時間與私人空間所共同架構的私域，並在其中從事複雜的心靈活動。

關鍵字

彈詞小說 ； 《金魚緣》 ； 《筆生花》 ； 花園 ； 欲望

並列摘要

In traditional discourses of space and gender in China, women's proper position was usually constructed as nei, inside. Privacy and feelings were thus associated with this feminine positioning. However, in female authored texts produced during the Ming and the Qing dynasties we find quite complex and multi-faceted representations of the inner worlds women were supposed to inhabit.Using female authored Qing dynasty's tanci narratives, this paper explores the multiple functions the enclosed spaces of the garden could play in women's fictional texts. In these narratives, the garden is depicted as a space where female characters can find solitude, an area of reclusion within the crowded household. On the other hand, it creates a contact zone between the ”inner chambers” and the outside world, and thus it becomes a dangerous area where women's desire for transgression can be expressed, if not fulfilled. Furthermore, because of the proximity of house and garden, it also symbolizes a place of rest and escape from menial routine of household work, while providing a mysterious enclosure in which to experience the unusual and the fantastic. Thus the garden can and should be read on all these multiple levels, and its readings can enrich our understanding of women's spatial perceptions and desires in Qing China.

並列關鍵字

Tanci ； "Jinyuyuan" ； "Bishenghua" ； garden ； desire