聽見我的故事: 瑪麗雪萊科學怪人中的身份,反應及關係斷層

Hear my Tale:Identity, Reception and Disconnection in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

蔡欣芸(Hsin-Yun Tsai)

指導教授 ： 霍弘毅

國立臺北科技大學/人文與社會科學學院/應用英文系碩士班/碩士(2014年)

https://doi.org/10.6841/NTUT.2014.00566

摘要

維克.弗蘭肯斯坦所創造出的科學怪人應該是在西方文化中最有名的怪物之一了.多年來科學怪人已經被改編成戲劇,電影,故事等等許多不同種類的作品.其前所未見的獨創性震撼了它的讀者.透過瑪麗雪萊的驚悚故事我將探討書中主要角色在文字及行為上的身分及反應. 維克是科學怪人的創作者,也算是他的父親.他們倆人之間的關係是難以抹滅的.雖然維克很努力地試著忽略及想要遺忘他已創造出科學怪人的事實,他在科學怪人獲得生命的那一刻隨即遺棄了他,但是科學怪人仍然不斷出沒在他的身邊困擾著他.維克的身分及反應完全左右了科學怪人的命運.當科學怪人的眼睛睜開的那一刻起,維克即稱呼他為畜牲,惡魔及怪物.藉由近距離的審查,我們可以看出維克是否刻意地創造出一個怪物.更進一步的我們可以瞭解到,科學怪人真的是維克口中所稱的畜牲,惡魔及怪物嗎?如果他真的是,那在何時,透過了語言還是他的行為讓他成為了畜牲,惡魔或是怪物呢?我也將更深入的探討一個書中角色及讀者間的斷層問題.我們能夠很明顯地看到書中所有的角色都是同情及憐憫維克的.但是和書中角色不同的是讀者們似乎同情及憐憫的不是維克而是科學怪人,因此存在著角色及讀者的斷層問題.是甚麼原因造成角色及讀者間的斷層呢?然而讀者是否一直是同情及憐憫科學怪人而非維克的呢?瑪麗雪萊的著名小說已經將近兩百歲了,透過時間上的不同來審查不同的年代是否也造成了讀者們對科學怪人及他的創造者看法及觀點的轉變應該也是非常有趣的.

關鍵字

憐憫

並列摘要

Victor Frankenstein’s scientific creation has been regarded and recognized as one of the most famous monsters in western culture. It has been adapted into various versions of plays, films and stories. Its originality strikes people. Through Mary Shelley’s tale of horror I would like to discuss the identity and reception in language and action between the main characters. Victor is the creator, the father of the being; the connection between the two can never be eliminated. Although Victor tries vigorously to neglect his Creature and abandons him at birth, the Creature still comes back and haunts him. Victor’s identity and reception affects his creation’s fate tremendously. He greets his creature with terms as wretch, fiend and monster the very moment the Creature comes to life. Through a close examination, I would like to see whether it is Victor’s intention to create a monster. Also, is the Creature really a monster? If he is, then at what moment does he become a monster? Further, I will explore the disconnection between the characters and readers. It is obvious that all characters in Frankenstein sympathize with Victor, the creator. Unlike the characters in the book, readers seem to react otherwise. But, have readers always sympathized with the Creature rather than Victor Frankenstein himself, and if so, why? The novel is almost two centuries old. It is also interesting to inspect how time differences affect the readers and their views on the Creature or the creator, what those changes might be, and what is the significance of those changes.

並列關鍵字

Sympathy

參考文獻

Works Cited

Asma, Stephen T. On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. Web.

Baldick, Chris. In Frankenstein's Shadow: Myth, Monstrosity, and Nineteenth-century Writing. Oxford: Clarendon, 1987. Print.

Botting, Fred, ed. Frankenstein: Mary Shelley. Houndmills: Macmillan, 1995. Print.

Day, Martin S. History of English Literature 1660-1837. Taiwan: Bookman, 1987. Print.