論大衛·米切爾《雲圖》中的多重體裁：超越敘事準則

Abstract

本論文旨在探討大衛·米切爾 (David Mitchell) 的小說《雲圖》中的體裁，其敘事結構上的多元性。大衛·米切爾於《雲圖》中敘述六個故事，採用六個體裁，利用將故事中斷的展開方式連結多個故事角色的生命故事。故事角色們來自不同身份、性別、國家、時代背景，且角色間並無直接接觸，卻藉由觀看接收，觸動了角色間的連結，推動故事進行。由於此小說敘事結構上的多重複雜性，綜觀過去批評家的評論從不同論點出發試圖歸類此小說的複雜的敘事結構，因難用單一種學說將其定義，而使得《雲圖》在體裁的歸類上尚未出現一致的共識。《雲圖》結構上有著許多後設元素，卻仍存在著無法單以後設小說解釋的觀點。而本論文試圖基於此觀點，加入浸入式劇場 (Immersive Theater)的角度，用以解釋結構上中斷帶來讀者選擇的效果、角色們於不同故事中位置的變動，以及貫穿於整本小說中的主題性。此論點的加入，得以解釋《雲圖》中多重文本的設置、文本敘事中斷進而提供讀者的選擇權、以及主要角色身兼說話者與觀看者的特性，冀提供讀者在《雲圖》結構的多元性有新的詮釋視角。

This thesis explores the narratological structure in David Mitchell`s Cloud Atlas. The novel is divided into six individual stories, each told in a different generic mode and each focusing on a different protagonist; these six protagonists come from different countries and social backgrounds, hold different religious or political beliefs, and have very different life stories. Each protagonist develops a connection to the previous story’s protagonist by interacting with a specific item such as a journal, a film, music, etc. featured in the preceding story. By absorbing information from these items, the protagonists connect to one and another, and each story becomes an essential movement in the broader storyline. Critics have analyzed Cloud Atlas from various perspectives, but the novel’s generic multiplicity makes defining it as a part of a specific genre difficult. Indeed, critics have not reached a consensus about the novel’s genre. Even though Cloud Atlas has some metafictional elements, it contains other characteristics that do not fit this classification. Based on this point, this thesis adopts a theatrical angle and points out the similarities between Cloud Atlas’ structure and that of immersive theater to explain how the interruptive narration enables readers to choose their preferred reading sequence, places the protagonists in mutable positions that allow them to function as both speakers and spectators, and facilitates thematic consistency throughout these six distinct stories. In utilizing this theatrical angle to examine the structure of Cloud Atlas, this thesis elucidates the effect of interruptive narration, the transfer of authorship to readers, and the protagonists’ mutable positions in the novel, thereby providing readers a new way of understanding the narratological structure in Cloud Atlas.