童妮‧摩里森的《寵兒》與《恩惠》中的奴隸、創傷與女性社群的可能/不可能性

Slavery, Trauma and the (Im)possibility of Female Community in Toni Morrison's Beloved and A Mercy

劉靜(Jing Liu)

指導教授 ： 劉亮雅

國立臺灣大學/文學院/外國語文學研究所/碩士(2019年)

https://doi.org/10.6342/NTU201900806

摘要

透過回溯奴隸歷史、揭露美非族群被埋藏之心理創傷及找尋在1691年與1873年組成女性聯結的可能性，本文將探索童妮‧摩里森的《寵兒》與《恩惠》中奴隸、創傷與女性社群的可能/不可能性之間的關係。在兩本小說裡，摩里森再現了奴隸歷史當中兩段不同的時期─奴隸時期的序幕/後期以及美國重建時期─生動且細膩地揭發了奴隸生活最真實的恐怖。藉由回想與重拾黑人角色奴隸生活與經驗的歷史碎片，美非族群的個人與集體無法發聲的創傷才能夠被聽見與理解。此外，我也將透過分析女性角色關係之間許多細微的起起落落去討論兩本小說當中女性社群建立的可能與不可能性。組構女性社群是一項極其重要、幫助受創女性治癒縈繞於心的創傷的方法，尤其是邪惡的奴隸制度所造成的母女分離之創傷，因為受創的母女分離關係正是《寵兒》與《恩惠》的中心主題之一。透過連結奴隸、創傷與女性社群的可能/不可能性的主題，本文不僅揭開奴隸歷史的真相與黑人族群痛苦的創傷也會尋找一個可能的空間去探討建立女性社群或團結性的可能性，並創造強大且具療癒性之力量以治癒他們無形卻痛苦萬分的創傷。

關鍵字

《寵兒》 ； 《恩惠》 ； 奴隸 ； 創傷 ； 女性社群 ； 母女關係

並列摘要

This thesis intends to explore the relationships between slavery, trauma and the (im)possibility of female community in Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987) and A Mercy (2008) through tracing back the slavery history, disclosing the buried psychic trauma of African American people and looking for the possibility of forming women bonds back at the time in 1691 and 1873. In the two novels, Morrison represents the two different periods of slavery history–– the preface/ the later stage of slavery and the Reconstruction era–– to expose the real horrors of slavery life vividly and meticulously. By recalling and recollecting the historical fragments of the black characters’ slavery past and experience, the unspoken traumas of African American individuals and collective are able to be heard and understood. In addition, I focus on analyzing many subtle ups and downs in the relationships between the female characters to discuss about the (im)possibility of female community in both of the novels. Female community is a vitally significant method of helping the traumatized women and girls enter the healing process of their haunting traumas, especially the trauma of mother-daughter separations caused by the vicious slavery system, which is also the central theme of Beloved and A Mercy. By making the connections between the topic of slavery, trauma and the (im)possibility of female community, this thesis not only unveils the truth of slavery history and the painful traumas of black people but also searches for a potential site to discuss about the possibility of establishing female community or solidarity and creating the strong, healing power to cure their invisible yet torturing traumas.

並列關鍵字

Beloved ； A Mercy ； slavery ； trauma ； female community ； mother-daughter relationship

參考文獻

Anderson, Melanie R.. “‘Slave. Free. I Last’: Spectral Returns in A Mercy.” Spectrality in the Novels of Toni Morrison. Knoxville: Tennessee UP, 2013. 131-144. Print.

Angelo, Bonnie. “The Pain of Being Black: An Interview with Toni Morrison.” Conversations with Toni Morrison. Ed. Danille Taylor-Guthrie. Mississippi: Mississippi UP, 1994: 255-61. Print.

Atwood, Margaret. “Haunted by Their Nightmares.” Modern Critical Interpretations: Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. 5-9. Print.

Cantiello, Jessica Wells. “From Pre-Racial to Post-Racial? Reading and Reviewing A Mercy in the Age of Obama.” MELUS: The Journal of the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States 36.2(2011): 165-183.

Carlacio, Jami. “Narrative Epistemology: Storytelling as Agency in A Mercy.” Toni Morrison: Paradise, Love, A Mercy. London: Bloomsbury, 2013. 129-46. Print.