- 學位論文
逐自由之愛：論拜倫《唐璜》中女性情慾反叛之能動性
Quest for the Freedom of Love: Female Sexuality as Subversive Agency in Lord Byron's Don Juan
摘要
浪漫主義詩人拜倫曾經說過「愛情是男人生命的一部份，卻是女人生命的全部」這樣的至理名言。 在他人生的經歷中，與女人的繾綣情事也占了他生命中極重要的部分，而這樣豐沛的情感之下，卻也使他創造作出這多浪漫作品，所以我們清楚可見，拜倫的作品大都和女性有關。 在《唐璜》中，不但充滿了許多浪漫的色彩，也透露出 “把握當下愛情”這個主題的重要性。 本論文即主要探討《唐璜》中描述女性的各種形象，積極逐愛的經驗及諷刺口吻中的內在衝突，以及歷來批評的謬誤之處。 事實上，拜倫並不是主要嘲諷女性的本質，而是要藉由女性意象來讚揚愛情的美好，因為情與愛是人性最原始的渴望，也是現實生活中心靈的滋潤劑。 再者，作者也以女人為主體，將其主體性塑造之過程顯示出來。 亦言之，感情的一念之間提供了女人在自我認知方面無比的可塑性，也是一種美感經驗的昇華，從中產生了新的思想方式及生命的意義。 透過《唐璜》這部作品，拜倫表達人類真誠的感情及原始對愛的欲望渴求。 在反對專制及崇尚自由的拜倫眼裡，這些屬於人類的熱烈情感及愛慾是不應該受到拘束的。長久以來，女性在兩性互動中被教導成要表現成被動的或服從的，因而女性就易於被視為男性生活中的一個目標或一小部份而已，亦或是僅僅成為家庭中的照顧者角色。 在西方的文學著作中，女性也以被描述為貞潔或順服等特質居多，甚至於成為男性作家筆下英雄人物的陪襯角色。 然而，在拜倫《唐璜》詩中所雕琢的女性卻和以往對女性溫柔美好的詮釋大相逕庭，在其嘲諷的口吻下卻充滿了對於女性充滿情感自主的肯定。 在自由的前提之下，愛情是無國界、準則及階級之分的。 無論男女，都能在世界上追逐所愛與幸福。 而從拜倫的平等概念中，我們看到他對於過往教條和道德的思維中不一樣的地方。 亦即，在愛情的國度裡，拜倫藉由描述女性的主動求愛來傳達出理想中的兩性之間平衡對等的關係。 他認為女性主動的情慾表現和積極的去爭取自己的幸福是能為自己建立自主性的，同時也帶出了要積極掌握愛情的意味。 我的論文分為四章。第一章概論我的論文處理方向及方向，另外也回顧以往的批評論述，從中歸納出值得討論的觀點。 在《唐璜》中，主人翁即是拜倫本人的心情寫照，有些情節也透露出作者對愛情及女性觀念和態度。 第二章審視拜倫以女性為主要角色的用意，並以女性主義的觀點來說明女人在追逐感性方面的正面與積極之處。 因此，從《唐璜》中的女性形象看來，他們在情感方面的表現其實可以是理性的。 第三章以旅行的概念為背景來看在唐璜旅程中每一段邂逅的情事，對於這位 “外來者”，異國的女性紛紛均由愛上唐璜以及從與唐璜的互動中而更了解自己，這就是女性為愛而勇敢追求的力量。 特別的是，女性和唐璜的戀人關係可被視為一種母子關係，從克里絲多娃的角度來看，這種具 “母性”的愛的力量是無懼於父權體制的，女性與唐璜眼的戀情像是母子關係排拒過程中所遭受的掙扎，既渴望靠近但又懷著抗拒的心理，但由女性積極的表達情感層面來看，女性戰勝了父權象徵的體制及社會價值觀等束縛，無論是霸氣、嫉妒或是熱情等的表現，都表達出了對愛情的一種渴望。 而女性的情愛關係及拜倫浪漫想像力在此處的呼應都將愛情的美好臻至高峰。 第四章結論，透過這部史詩巨著所呈現的愛情意境，對一個健全的人類而言，充滿愛情的生命絕不會是一種浪費。 拜倫想要告訴讀者的也就是要把握現在，尤其是做為一個女人也應該要勇敢地追求自己的幸福，不須受限於性別，階級等壓迫因素，因為 “愛情”是一種沒有原因也無法解釋的強烈感覺。 最後，拜倫對感情的態度也呼應了浪漫主義時期的思想—「情感勝於一切」。
並列摘要
Byron has said that “Man’s love is of man’s life a thing apart, ‘Tis woman’s whole existence.” It is clear that Byron’s love affairs preoccupied most of his daily life; moreover, such a personal history of love inspires him to create a variety of works in which women play a crucial role. Don Juan not only includes colorful romances but also reveals women’s desires and sexuality in a positive way. This thesis is a representation of how women become more individualized and sophisticated through their active pursuit of love in Don Juan. Meanwhile, the inherent tensions of the satiric tones are the narrator’s rhetorical means of compelling the reader to see reality from different perspectives. Within a larger framework of satire, the issue of female sexuality and the concept of love are easily assumed a darker color. In fact, Byron’s usage of a comic tone does not satirize women; instead, he describes how wonderful love is in the world through images of women in love and the emotions that are the original libido desires of human beings. Love is the spiritual enrichment of one’s daily lives and a kind of symbol of energy and happiness. In addition, the author presents women’s gradual getting rid of social constraints and developing their confidence. Their experience of love offers unlimited possibilities for shaping their own identities and results in a kind of spiritual transcendence from which the new thinking and meanings of life are generated. What Byron would like to show in Don Juan is the exploration of human feelings, especially human passion, and the nature of love. In the context of Byron’s arguments against despotism, he thinks that one’s sexuality and desire about love must be free. Traditionally, women’s connection with love is conservative and supposed to be passive. Women become a target for men to choose as part of their lives. However, Byron transforms such a fixed stereotype and depicts female’s active performance in the quest for love. Through the use of satire, Byron presents more accurate concepts of love, human beings, and true freedom. Implicit in the poem is that the nature of love is a kind of desire which exists in everyone’s hearts. Based on Byron’s devotion to liberty, female sexuality is worth admiring and should not be regulated by external limits from society, politics, and morality. Under such a revolutionary intention, the spirit of “carpe diem” is also revised and given a new meaning: it not only includes the hedonic aspect of life but also the extreme effort to change one’s condition. There is no hierarchy in the world of love; women also can dominate men for the sake of true love and happiness they want. Time and physical beauty are fleeting, so making the most present pleasure and fulfillment is very important. Thus, Byron’s revolutionary and rebellious spirit is quite obvious here: he adopts ironic tone to criticize orthodox ideas. He portrays an ideal equality between men and women. This thesis is divided into four chapters. In Chapter One, I outline the background of the study by clarifying the main argument and terminologies, surveying the previous scholarships, justifying my area of study, and laying the foundation for the whole thesis. Chapter Two scrutinizes Byron’s intention by focusing on female characters in his Don Juan. My concern here is to illustrate the positive aspect of female’s active pursuit of love and show their desire, thoughts, personal will and action. Besides, Byron arranges two reversals of gender roles: Juan as a woman in the Turkish episode, and Fitz-Fulke dressed as a ghost to pretend being a friar. The cross-dressing and reversals of both sexes symbolizes a departure from the traditional binary opposition of male/ female. Thus, women are not always seen as subordinate in the gender relation. Chapter Three examines the relation between sexuality and traveling in terms of Julia Kristeva’s discussion of strangers and love in Strangers to Ourselves. For these female figures depicted in the poem, Juan becomes a foreigner for them with whom they can recognize themselves. The women-Juan affairs actually can be seen as a mother-son relationship which Kristeva defines as “chora” whereby women gradually reveal their subversive power to counter patriarchal regulation. In this point of view, the female figures’ aspiration of love in Don Juan can be considered rational and admired in a positive way. Even though women encounter obstacles in the pursuit of love, they still develop their own individualities more and more. In Chapter Four, through Byron’s depiction of amorous atmosphere in this poem, we can understand a kind of life permeated with love is not a waste for a healthy human being. Byron tries to tell the readers that seizing the time to love is very important. Especially as a woman, she should bravely chase her happiness regardless of gender, class, race, and other oppressive elements because love is a kind of strong feeling which happens in a sudden moment without reasons or explanations. At last, Byron’s attitude toward love echoes the typical thinking of Romanticism—“Sentimental emotion is over everything”—an extreme value of love whose strength can save both men and women. Therefore, true freedom and fulfillment for women do contribute to equality between both men and women.