《別讓我走》中禁錮／忌的身體

Abstract

在石黑一雄的《別讓我走》中，複製人身體的重要性是無庸置疑的，因為人類生存廣泛地仰賴複製人的器官移植。然而對複製人而言，身體不只是被禁止討論的禁忌，亦受到如性教育、禁菸及藝術追求等規範力量的管束。禁忌和規範管束表面上是基於複製人的好處，倡導靈魂的高貴，實則藉著身體和靈魂的二元對立禁姻和貶抑身體，使複製人無非見於身體的獨特性，最終將人類對其身體器官的剝削視為理所當然。這中間正是生物權力的運作。本文試圖從精神分析和後結構的理論觀點來探討小說中身體的禁錮／忌和經濟。為什麼複製人個別獨特的身體被忽視或甚至淪為無形，但同時他們身體的價值和功能卻相當受到重視和強調呢？生物權力又是如何地被運用在這些服從的複製人的身上並進而將其商品化呢？本文認為當複製人天真地遵從統治者的價值觀和規範，無視於身體禁忌和禁錮背後的經濟剝削和權力政治時，他們將因而忽略自身身體的反動力。除此以外，小說中如此廣泛被接受的身體禁忌和禁錮也闡明其主導性的社會文化力量是如何地傳播普及以致於主導者可以同時控管服從民眾的身體和心理。

In Kazuo Ishiguro`s "Never Let Me Go", the importance of the cloned body is undeniable, for human lives generally depend on the transplants of the cloned body organs. The cloned body, however, is not only forbidden in talks like a taboo but imprisoned by such controlling forces as sex education, smoking prohibition, and art pursuit. On the surface, taboos and normalized controls of the body are for the benefits of the clones and promote the nobleness of the soul. In fact, the dichotomy between the body and the soul degrades the cloned body, making the clones blind to their individual bodily uniqueness and eventually take for granted human dominators` exploitation of their body organs. Bio-power comes into play in this process. This paper undertakes psychoanalysis and poststructuralist approaches to explore controls, taboos, and exploitation of the cloned body. Why are the variables of the cloned body ignored or even invisible while at the same time its value and utility are considerably stressed? How is bio-power exercised over the obedient clones and how does it turn their body into commodity? This paper argues that when the clones naively conform to their governors` values and norms and make light of the exploitation and power politics hidden behind body controls and taboos, they consequently become ignorant of their own bodily revolts. In addition, well-accepted body norms and taboos in Ishiguro`s novel also illustrate how diffuse and prevailing socio-cultural forces are and how such forces may subjugate people`s body and mind as well.