臺灣博碩士論文加值系統

阿蘭達蒂‧洛伊的獲獎之作《微物之神》以其高度個人化的書寫及複雜的敘事技巧著稱。本文認為此種書寫與李歐塔(Jean-François Lyotard)的哲學政治理念相互呼應，並試圖以阿鎂德(Sara Ahmed)的恐懼理論探討這本小說。洛伊於小說中的政治訴求即為透過個人情感為被壓迫的族群發聲。小說中濃烈的負面情緒，正是為凸顯故事主角們在種姓制度下窘迫的生活概況。在這些情緒中，恐懼為最強烈的負面情感，因為它正是種姓制度用來馴化人民的政治工具之一。本文主要以阿鎂徳的恐懼理論探討恐懼在角色間的運作過程，並將洛伊於小說中所創之「愛的律法」視為「宏大敘事(metanarrative)」，此法不僅訂下種姓制度中嚴格的教條，也同時藉由規範賤民與非賤民之間的互動而產生恐懼。在種姓制度中，(不)潔淨是區分賤民與非賤民的重要依據，因為它不僅在肢體互動及血緣上將兩個族群區隔開來，甚至使得他們相互恐懼。而洛伊的書寫本身即可視為傳遞恐懼的方式之一。透過不斷重複恐怖的意象，洛伊構築出一個負聯想的網絡，在小說中創造恐懼瀰漫的氛圍。重覆本身不僅能夠強化恐懼，也同時在敘事的過程中產生迂迴的效果，從而模擬雙胞胎的創傷記憶。洛伊的恐懼書寫目的是要透過被壓迫者的視角，來喚醒讀者對於角色遭遇的關懷，而其書寫的政治性即落在她試圖探索在「愛的律法」中，克服恐懼的可能性。

Arundhati Roy’s award-winning novel, The God of Small Things, features a highly personal writing style as well as complex narrative strategies. The present thesis argues that such writing is in line with Jean-François Lyotard’s philosophical politics and reads the novel from Sara Ahmed’s theory of fear. Roy’s political agenda in the novel is to voice for the depressed through personal affects. Thick with negative emotions, the novel depicts the reduced circumstances of the characters under the rule of the caste system. Among all the unpleasant feelings, fear is singled out as the most distinctive emotion, as the affect is employed by the caste system to subdue its subjects. To further explore the operation of fear among the characters, the present thesis approaches the novel by mainly incorporating Sara Ahmed’s model of fear into the analysis. I will begin by delineating the Love Laws as the metanarrative that regulates the strict caste regulations and triggers fear as they prescribe the proper interactions among their subjects, the Touchable and the Untouchable alike. The notion of (im)purity in the caste system is of paramount importance regarding the caste classification, because it not only divides them in both physical and genetic sense, but also creates the mutual fear between these two classes. Moreover, Roy’s writing is in itself a way to express fear. Through repetition of the horrible images, Roy builds up a network of negative associations that creates a permeating sense of fear in her novel. Such repetitions not only help to intensify fear but also create a circular effect in her narration that imitates the wounded memories of the twins. Roy’s writing of fear is an attempt to raise the reader’s concern for the reduced circumstances of the characters by seeing from the depressed people’s perspectives. Her radical politics lies in her exploration of the possibility of overcoming the fear engendered by the Love Laws.

Acknowledgements i
中文摘要 ii
Abstract iii
Table of Contents iv
Chapter 1: Introduction: Fear in the Postmodern Context 1
Chapter 2: In Fear of Difference: (Im)purity in the Caste System 17
Chapter 3: Writing Fear: The Aesthetics of Repetition 37
Chapter 4: Experiencing Fear: The Effect of Narration 53
Chapter 5: Conclusion 66
Works Cited 71

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