置身事外的當事者: 從同理心看十九世紀英美小說

Detached sympathy in the long nineteenth century: Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, and The Portrait of a Lady

蘇俞文(Su Yu-Wen)

指導教授 ： 曾思旭 ； 陳音頤

國立政治大學/外國語文學院/英國語文學系/博士(2020年)

https://doi.org/10.6814/NCCU202100028

摘要

作者認為心理小說透過想像力回應了同理心在十九世紀的發展。這些心理小說，藉由細膩描繪書中主人翁的「共感」(fellow-thinking)，從而重新定義了亞當·斯密（Adam Smith）闡述同理心中對一位「公正的觀察者」(impartial spectator)的功能。這公正的旁觀者可以被視為個人良心的人格化，以一個獨立（儘管是看不見的）人物左右主人翁的想法與判斷。在這些小說中，人物依據對這個公正的旁觀者所作的判斷，改變自己的行為。
在本文討論的三本心理小說中，維克多·弗蘭肯斯坦（Victor Frankenstein）、簡·愛（Jane Eyre）和伊莎貝爾·阿切爾（Isabel Archer）試圖在遭遇的各樣衝突中與自我對話，成為一位公正的旁觀者：然而，弗蘭肯斯坦的逝去源於無法成功地與他的創造物(the Creature)，也就是他的「旁觀者」達成共識。另一方面，儘管簡·愛（Jane Eyre）與羅切斯特（Rochester）身心靈的契合呈現一個臻於完美的同理心，但此同理心卻未免顯得過度理想化、不真實，因為若不是藉由文末超自然力量的協助，兩位主人翁無法再次相遇，這種完美的同理也將無法實現。與弗蘭肯斯坦和簡·愛不同，《一位女士的肖像》中的伊莎貝爾在不幸的婚姻中重新審視她的意識，也就是與她「公正的觀察者」的重新對話，從本來身為一位不切實際的夢想家轉變為一位客觀的觀察者，並在苦難中獲得自我救贖。

關鍵字

同理心 ； 共感 ； 公正的觀察者 ； 科學怪人 ； 簡愛 ； 一位女士的肖像

並列摘要

This thesis describes sympathy’s development with fiction in the long nineteenth century. It argues that psychological novels respond to sympathy in the theatric imagination through fellow-thinking. Through discussions of psychological novels, this dissertation argues that these novels facilitate characters’ fellow-thinking in order to redefine the function of what Adam Smith sees as an “impartial spectator.” It seems that, in these novels, characters modify their actions according to their interpretations of the judgements cast by this impartial spectator, an entity which can be considered a separate (albeit unseen) character which functions as a conscience.
In these three psychological novels, Victor Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, and Isabel Archer try to position themselves as this impartial spectator in the conversation or enter into conflict with the other characters, nature, and consciousness: Frankenstein is unable to successfully negotiate his position vis-a-vis a theatric “impartial observer,” his creature, and, as a result, dies. Although Jane Eyre’s sympathy with Rochester is perfect, this idealized sympathy is nonetheless shadowed by the supernatural voice. Without the help (rather than the hindrance) of this force, this perfect sympathy is impossible. Different from Frankenstein and Jane, Isabel in The Portrait is transformed from an absorbed thinker to a more objective observer through her relationship with Osmond. By successfully negotiating her relationship with her conscience, “impartial observer,” her accomplishment redeems her from her suffering.

並列關鍵字

Sympathy ； fellow-thinking ； Frankenstein ； Jane Eyre ； The Portrait of a Lady

參考文獻

Works Cited

Ablow, Rachel. The Marriage of Minds. Stanford University Press, 2007.

Bennett, Kelsey L. Principle and Propensity: Experience and Religion in the Nineteenth-Century British and American Bildungsroman. University of South Carolina Press, 2014.

Bloom, Harold. Introduction. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Ed. Harold Bloom. Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.

Boudreau, Kristin. “Henry James’s Inward Aches.” The Henry James Review, vol. 20, no. 1, Johns Hopkins University Press 1999.