招待不在場的客人：以精神分析之鏡閱讀喬伊斯的〈死者〉

Abstract

在中篇小說〈死者〉中，喬伊斯重新定義了愛爾蘭的好客傳統。藉由對比在場與不在場的客人，喬伊斯質問：是否招待了在場的客人就能稱得上好客？答案呼之欲出。要稱得上好客，一個人必須也要能招待不在場的客人——他/她要有能力思考突然浮現的回憶與情緒。如此，喬伊斯將愛爾蘭好客傳統從儀式轉化為記憶的能力。在〈死者〉中，賈伯瑞和葛瑞塔要面對的是關乎愛爾蘭大饑荒的記憶。要怎麼做才能記憶如此不愉快的記憶呢？溝通似乎是關鍵。本篇論文，我將用英國精神分析師比昂「涵容者」與「被涵容者」的理論，檢視此二角色間的溝通。用比昂的術語來說，葛瑞塔作為一個涵容者，需要涵容——即消化——自身創傷的戀情。要完成這項任務，她需要向另一個涵容者賈伯瑞訴說自己的苦痛。這件事是有難度的，畢竟賈伯瑞作為一個涵容者，也有自身的情感與經驗需要消化。要度過困難，兩個涵容者的連結至關重要。透過連結，兩個角色能將記憶從創傷轉化為思想。

In “The Dead,” Joyce attempts to redefine Irish hospitality. He redefines it by juxtaposing the visible guests with the invisible guests that live in people’s memories. Through the juxtaposition, he is demanding whether it is enough only to entertain the guests who are visible. The answer is clear. To be hospitable, a person must also be able to deal with the guests who are invisible. In other words, he or she must have a way to retain the memories and emotions accidentally evoked. This far, we have seen how Joyce turns Irish hospitality from a mere set of rituals into the capacity deep down to keep things in mind. The things that need to be kept in mind in the story deserve our attention. They are no ordinary memories. Instead, they are memories associated with the Great Irish Famine. What does it take to keep in mind such difficult memories? In Gabriel and Gretta’s case in the story, it appears that communication is key. In this thesis, I will scrutinize the communication between the two characters with the model of “the container” and “the contained” postulated by the British Psychoanalyst Wilfred R. Bion. In Bion’s language, Gretta is a container trying to contain, or process in her mind, the traumatic romance she has been through. To complete her task, she manages to get another container involved: she relates her pain to Gabriel, who also has the emotions and experiences of his own to process. The link between the two containers matters. It transforms the traumatic romance from something unthinkable into an idea that can be kept in mind.