摹仿和暴力之下的孿生文本：《凱薩遇弒記》與《哈姆雷特》

Abstract

在莎士比亞（William Shakespeare）研究的悠久歷史中，許多學者與批評家們都曾提及勃魯特斯（Brutus）和哈姆雷特（Hamlet）二人在氣質上的相像，勃魯特斯也經常被形容為「胚胎狀態的哈姆雷特」。但是在《凱薩遇弒記》（Julius Caesar）與《哈姆雷特》（Hamlet）這兩個劇本之間，還有更多取材上的淵源與文本的互涉之處卻鮮少受到注意。 本論文的主旨便是以「摹仿」和「暴力」為主題，討論《凱薩遇弒記》與《哈姆雷特》的孿生文本關係，所依附的理論架構則是以吉拉爾（Rene Girard, 1923-）的摹仿欲望（mimesis desire）為主、替罪羊機制（scapegoat mechanism）為輔。透過摹仿欲望，我們可以發現勃魯特斯與哈姆雷特的諸多行動其實都是出於對「同名君父」的迷戀、以及對「仇敵君父」的妒恨，劇中角色們的欲望和自我認同亦往往來自於對他者的摹仿或競爭。替罪羊機制則幫助我們重新檢視兩劇中各種復仇、迫害、與暴力行為的本質，並揭示其背後的成因和運作邏輯。 然而，《哈姆雷特》一劇在大量重複《凱薩遇弒記》的角色關係與情節構成的同時，卻又似乎有意識地在抗拒這些重複。藉由哈姆雷特的延宕、質疑、與臨終皈依，我們得以窺見莎士比亞在「重新書寫」、「兩案並陳」的孿生手法之下對人性的關懷與對暴力的批判。

In Shakespeare studies, it is common for critics to juxtapose Hamlet with Brutus and to discuss how alike they are in temperament. However, even though Brutus has been constantly described as an “embryonic Hamlet,” many twin contents and intertextuality in Julius Caesar and Hamlet still have been neglected. This thesis is to scrutinize the twin contents and intertextuality between these two plays under the topic of “mimesis and violence” by using Rene Girard’s theories of mimesis desire and scapegoat mechanism. By using the discourse of mimesis desire, one can notice both Brutus’ and Hamlet’s motivations come from the obsession with their fathers, who they are named after, and from the resentment against their “rival fathers”—Caesar and Claudius. Apart from Brutus and Hamlet, nearly all the other main characters in these two plays are driven by their mimesis of other people and by the rivalry between self and others. As for scapegoat mechanism, it enables us to examine the essence of vengeance, persecution, and violence in Julius Caesar and Hamlet, revealing the causes and logic behind these vengeful, persecutive, and violent actions. Hamlet can be seen as a duplication of Julius Caesar in terms of the relation between characters and the composition of plots. Nevertheless, the play Hamlet also shows its resistance to the duplication, which can be perceived in the postponement, query, and “conversion” of the prince of Denmark. By inspecting the similarity and difference between the two plays, one can realize Shakespeare’s underlying intension and sustained concern for the twinning and rewriting of Julius Caesar and Hamlet, which is the main purpose of this thesis.