維多利亞陽剛特質與男子氣概： 丁尼生《亞瑟王的畫像》中的男性典範

Abstract

摘要 本論文探究亞佛列．丁尼生《亞瑟王的畫像》中的維多利亞陽剛特質。目的在於，反對傳統詮釋將丁尼生的亞瑟王傳奇，視為維護維多利亞父權社會的說教式作品。儘管已有一些引人注目，探討陽剛特質的相關研究，但這些討論都限定於亞瑟王上。本文檢視亞瑟王與騎士們之間的陽剛競爭，主張丁尼生的亞瑟王為維多利亞讀者樹立了一種霸權陽剛典範，但同時也質疑了亞瑟王制定為兄弟會理念的主控意識形態。為此，採用康諾（R. W. Connell）霸權陽剛特質（hegemonic masculinity）的理論架構，從確切的社會歷史脈絡來討論丁尼生亞瑟王世界裡的陽剛特質、男人與女人之間的的性別關係和騎士的男性敘述。本文著重丁尼生如何利用亞瑟王傳奇建造了當代的霸權陽剛典範並強調其內部衝突和問題。亞瑟王的理想反映出中產階級男性對男性本質的自律與對女性的理想化而達到男子氣概，但當騎士們努力信守圓桌武士誓言，擁護亞瑟王霸權典範的過程中卻經歷了各自的男性危機。亞瑟王國度毀壞的原因，除了藍斯洛和維尼格的姦情外，更重要的原因是霸權典範的內部問題，例如英雄、居家陽剛特質的矛盾衝突和對女性過度的理想化。

Abstract This thesis is a study of Victorian masculinities in Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. The purpose of this thesis is to argue against the traditional interpretation that Tennyson’s Arthurian poem is a didactic work that upholds the status quo of Victorian patriarchal society. While some compelling studies dealing with the issue of masculinities have appeared, they have been limited to the discussion of Tennyson’s King Arthur. This thesis examines competing masculinities among Arthur and his knights. It argues that Tennyson constructs a Victorian hegemonic model of masculinity for his Victorian readers through his reconfiguration of Arthur by which the dominant ideology Arthur enacts as the ideals of the brotherhood is called into question. In doing so, it adopts R.W. Connell’s theoretical framework “hegemonic model” to discuss masculinities, gender relations between men and women in Tennyson’s Arthurian world and the knights’ masculine narratives in specific historical and social contexts. It pays particular attention to how Tennyson deploys the Arthurian legend to construct a hegemonic model as well as underscores its internal problems and contradictions. Arthur’s ideals reflect the middle-class view that a man should control his maleness and idealize his female counterpart as a means to achieve manhood. While striving to live up to the Round Table oaths and affirm Arthur’s hegemonic model, the knights suffer crisis of masculinities respectively. Arthur’s kingdom falls not only because of Guinevere’s sin but more importantly because of the internal problems of Arthur’s hegemonic model such as the contradiction between domestic and heroic masculinities as well as Arthur’s idealization of women.