重訪偉大故事:《微物之神》中的純潔神話

Abstract

阿蘭達蒂•羅依的第一部長篇小說(也是目前唯一一部)《微物之神》迄今已出版了八年之久。由於書中所觸及到的議題繁多，包括印度賤民階級所受到的不平等待遇，施加在婦女身上的肉體與精神上的暴力，或是在全球化下地方文化的邊緣化，所以至今仍贏得許多不同領域的研究者的關注。有些研究者將這本小說視為一個表現後殖民時期印度社會的文本；有些則將其視為將正規英文轉化為實驗性語言的絕佳典範；另外有些則將其視為一本宣揚女性權利的小說。\n 以上這些議題我在這本論文中或多或少都有所涉及，並以「純潔」典範的角度來探討。這裡所謂的「純潔」典範，指的是一種只接受特定受認可特質，並排斥任何在認可範圍外的存在，具將其視為「不潔」的系統。因此在文中「純潔」一字的指涉範圍含括衛生方面的乾淨，儀式上的潔淨，以至於在種族以及文化意含中的純淨。在第一章中，我會對文本做一個背景知識的介紹。在第二章，我將表明羅伊在小說中刻意破壞「大論述」的目的，並說明羅伊行文中表現出「大故事」的單薄度，以及這些大故事如何造成弱勢主體的隱没。在第三章中，討論將延伸到維魯沙這個角色上。首先我會解釋及解讀他賤民身份所被賦與的本質，接下來我會分析他所帶有的「不潔」意涵是如何及為什麼使他成為是代罪羔羊。在第四章中，我同樣的運用「純潔」與「不潔」間的對立關係來解讀小說中女性角色的處境。如同維魯沙一般，瑞海兒與阿慕也同樣在「純潔」符碼的宰制之下。它的標準支配了女性以及母性的合宜行止的內含。這些女性主角們也因此受限於「純潔」意涵的羅網之中。最後，我會在第五章中回頭總結前面幾章所提到的議題。此外，我會對於羅伊小說內容中所反映出來的當代印度社會與歷史的角度做一些討論，因為這點曾經引起爭議，並以此做為這本論文的尾聲。

Arundhati Roy’s prestigious first novel (and maybe the only novel), The God of Small Things, has already come out for eight years. It contains such exuberance of topics, such as the inequality towards the untouchables, the physical and mental violence abuse upon woman, or the marginalization of the local culture under the influences of globalization, that it has earned the attention of many researchers from different fields even till now. Some of researchers consider the text as a fiction which presents postcolonial India, others find the book as a perfect demonstration of how proper English is transformed into a more experimental form; still others treat the novel as an assertion of female rights.\n In this thesis, I more or less touch all of the above topics, and investigate them in the light of “the model of purity,” the system which only recognizes the approved essence and wipes off anything that is not. Thus in this thesis the term purity refers to concepts of the hygienic purity, ritual purity, and also the purity in the ethnic and cultural aspect. I will give background knowledge to the book in Chapter One. Then, in Chapter Two I declare Roy’s intention to mime the grand narrative in her novel, and how Roy’s writing lays bare the fragility of The Great Stories and how they work to ensure the invisibility of the minor subjects. In Chapter Three, I extend my discussion to the character Velutha. Firstly I explain and interpret his essence by his untouchable background; then I will analyze how and why his impure essence makes him a victim of others’ irrational malice. In Chapter Four, I also apply the opposition of purity and impurity to read the situation of the female characters in the novel. Like Velutha, the heroines Rahel and Ammu are also under surveillance of the purity code. The criterion of purity dictates not only the context of decent womanhood but also motherhood. The female protagonists are thus caught in the inescapable network of purity. Finally, I will have a retrospective look on my thesis in Chapter Five. Apart from this, I will have a brief discussion about the social reality reflected in Roy’s text as this issue once brought about controversy. This small debate will serve as my finale.