莊園神話的幻滅－以契訶夫戲劇作品為例

Abstract

莊園（Усадьба）為俄國歷史演進過程中的重要文化現象之一。它不但是當時文化、藝術及經濟中心，其擁有者－貴族階層－更是彼得大帝（Петр I，1672-1725）西化後培養出來的一群社會精英。貴族莊園文化在凱薩琳大帝（Екатерина II，1729-1796）執政時期達到顛峰，但後來的一連串歷史因素使它漸漸没落，1861年「農奴制度」（крепостное право）的廢除更為莊園的命運劃下句點，而該現象也反映在文學作品裡。本文將以文化角度出發，引用神話中的「樂園」（рай）概念，探討契訶夫戲劇作品莊園神話形象的幻滅。

Country estate is one of the most important cultural phenomena in the courses of Russian history. It is the center of Russian culture, art and economy. The owner of the country estate -- the aristocracies -- played the role of social elite after revolution of Peter Great (1672-1725). The phenomenon of country estate came to head in the period of Ekaterina II. Due to several historical events, especially the abolishment of serfdom in 1861, the fate of country estate went to the end. In the mean time this phenomenon was also found in literature. In this case, from cultural perspective, this paper attempts at a discussion of the disappearing image of country estate in terms of the concept of "paradise myth" implicit in drama of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.