From ＂Lady of Pleasure＂ to ＂Woman of Business＂: Trades (wo) man Mentality in Daniel Defoe's Roxana

從「享樂仕女」到「商場女桀」：丹尼爾．狄福《蘿克珊娜》中的（女）商人精神

葉采青(Tsai-Ching Yeh)

《小說與戲劇》 24卷1期 (2014/12) Pp. 1-35

https://doi.org/10.6271/fd.2014.24.1.01

摘要

本論文旨在探討丹尼爾．狄福在女性小說《蘿克珊娜》（1724）中所建立的商人精神，討論核心在於蘿克珊娜如何體現狄福「道地英國商人」的精神，以及蘿克珊娜是如何有別於十八世紀的女性，以其商業上的成就來建立女性主體認同。狄福對於經濟議題的關懷，使他在十八世紀眾多小說家中獨樹一格。雖其作品中的虛擬角色都是財富追求者，同時也具有商人的特質，但是直到1725出版《道地英國商人》（The Complete English Tradesman），狄福方才對於「道地英國商人」做了明確的定義。狄福視此書為青年商人的指南，並宣揚商業是讓英國富強的唯一途徑。狄福不僅嘗試在《道地英國商人》中建立特屬的商人精神，更試圖將這樣的觀點運用在他的小說人物上，尤其是《蘿克珊娜》中饒富魅力卻又極具爭議性的女性角色。因此，有別於過去研究將蘿克珊娜視為寡廉鮮恥的交際花，本論文將著重討論蘿克珊娜以金錢為上的商人特質，將她定義為十八世紀的「女商人」（She-Merchant）。蘿克珊娜這個顛覆性的角色，藉由財富管理的能力，試圖踰越社會加諸於女性的規範，並以其在商業運作上的成就，建立女性的主體性。因此透過十八世紀時代歷史背景的探討，本論文亦將分析狄福對於貧困女子的同情，以討論小說中的性別議題以及狄福在此議題的立場。

關鍵字

商人精神 ； 道地英國商人 ； 女商人 ； 女性主體認同 ； 性別

並列摘要

This paper examines the construction of tradesman mentality in Daniel Defoe's female-centered narrative, Roxana (1724), with the main foci on the ways Roxanaembodies the spirit of Defoe's ＂compleat English tradesman＂ and how this woman character, different from her contemporaries, establishes a female subjective identity through business manipulation. Concerns for economic issues distinguish Defoe's works from other eighteenthcentury novelists. Although his imaginative characters are pursuers of money and are businessman-like, not until the publication of The Complete English Tradesman in 1725 does Defoe clearly proffer his definition of a ＂compleat English tradesman.＂ He makes clear that he regards The Complete English Tradesman as an instruction for a young tradesman and advocates business as the readiest way to enrich England. He not only attempts to construct a tradesman mentality but also tries to apply this idea to his characters, especially the intriguingly controversial woman protagonist in Roxana. Instead of merely regarding Roxana as a dishonorable courtesan, the work emphasizes her money-oriented inclinations and defines Roxana as an eighteenthcentury ＂She-Merchant.＂ Roxana is a subversive figure who transgresses social norms with her solid property management abilities; she constructs a female subjectivity by means of her success in business. By placing Roxana in context, the study also examines Defoe's sympathy for women in distress and identifies Defoe's position with regard to gender.

並列關鍵字

tradesman mentality ； compleat English tradesman ； She-Merchant ； femalesubjective identity ； gender

參考文獻

Bell, Ian A.(1985).Defoe's Fiction.London:Croom Helm.

Blewett, David(1979).Defoe's Art of Fiction: Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders, Colonel Jack & Roxana.Toronto:U of Toronto P.

Brown, Laura(1993).Ends of Empire: Women and Ideology in Early Eighteenth-Century English Literature.Ithaca:Cornell UP.

Cohan, Steven(1976).Other Bodies: Roxana's Confession of Guilt.Studies in the Novel.8(4),406-18.

Defoe, Daniel,Bülbring, Karl D.(Intro., notes index)(2006).The Compleat English Gentleman.Whitefish:Kessinger.