電影時代的吳爾芙——作為翻譯計畫的《達洛威夫人》與《時時刻刻》

Abstract

從吳爾芙（Virginia Woolf）死後，「吳爾芙」這個名字就成了一個重要的文化象徵。在一九九０年代，一些改編自吳爾芙作品的戲劇作品陸續問世。但讓吳爾芙真正確立其在流行文化中明星地位的，卻是班雅民（Walter Benjamin）所言機器複製時代的藝術作品—電影。隨著科技進步，我們可以藉由影像的堆疊，瞭解吳爾芙的性格、個人生活及書寫模式。在這些電影中，《達洛威夫人》（Mrs. Dalloway）直接改編自吳爾芙同名作品，《時時刻刻》（The Hours）則師法《達洛威夫人》技巧及主題，力圖成為吳爾芙作品的來世。本論文會從修辭學角度，就電影/小說主題、劇情布局、意識流的呈現等部分探討電影中的翻譯過程，並繼續藉由班雅民的理論討論電影的「原創性」。 若我們將「吳爾芙」視為一項藝術作品，那麼翻譯（重新書寫作者）或許喪失了「光環」，卻會更貼近普羅大眾。重點是：電影版的《時時刻刻》或許並未創造出獨一無二的「吳爾芙」，但其創造出的「吳爾芙」和原作具有一樣的地位，並和原作不斷對話。

Virginia Woolf has become a significant cultural icon since her death. In the 1990s, a number of plays adapted from Woolf’s works were produced. However, it is with the release of the following three films that the star status of Virginia Woolf in popular culture has been established. With the advance of technology, we can appreciate her character, personal life and writing style through the compilation of cinematic images. Among these films, Mrs. Dalloway is the direct adaptation of Woolf’s novel while The Hours manages to follow the techniques, main themes and become the afterlife of Woolf’s work. In the famous essay “The Task of the Translator,” Walter Benjamin suggests the notion of “afterlife” of the original text/work of art. In another equally celebrated essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Benjamin states the influence of mechanical reproduction on the work of art. As a consequence, mechanical reproduction emancipates art from the task it was originally endowed with. In this regard, if we view the “Virginia Woolf” as the work of art, then the translation, the reproduction of the writer may lack the “aura,” but it also become more down to earth and accessible. All in all, Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours may not create a unique Woolf, they are equally original as the real Virginia Woolf nonetheless.