烏托邦與記憶：奧塔維亞．巴特勒《撒種的比喻》與《才幹的比喻》

Abstract

本篇論文試圖探討「烏托邦」與「記憶」的交集，以及過去、現在、未來如何緊密連結。記憶並不只是追溯過往，而更是期盼未來。本篇論文將Vincent Geoghegan關於烏托邦式記憶的理論作為出發點，檢視美國小說家奧塔維亞．巴特勒《撒種的比喻》與《才幹的比喻》中的烏托邦計畫。 首先，利用Zygmunt Bauman「懷舊烏托邦」的概念，與Svetlana Boym對不同類「懷舊」的區別，來解析Robledo與Christian America。其次，將Acorn視為Davina Cooper的「日常烏托邦」做研究。最後，Earthseed反映「過程導向式烏托邦」的意涵，並聚焦分析hyperempathy syndrome和the Destiny兩大特質。此三種烏托邦計畫，以「記憶」為共同主題，而Earthseed可說是三者之中最為可行的。

This thesis ventures to delve into the intersection of utopia and memory, and how the past, the present, and the future are closely intertwined. Memory is not simply retrospective, but can also be prospective. Vincent Geoghegan proposes a term “remembering the future,” which entails that “past memories will have a constitutive role in the forming of … present and future perceptions,” and that we “enter the future with a body of assumptions and preoccupation located in memory” (54). This thesis takes Geoghegan’s theory of utopian memory as a point of departure to look into various utopian projects in American novelist Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. First, Robledo and Christian America are investigated using Zygmunt Bauman’s notion of retrotopia and Svetlana Boym’s distinction of different kinds of nostalgia. Both cases show that retrotopia and restorative nostalgia prove to be harmful, for they keep people from moving beyond the past. Second, Acorn is examined as an everyday utopia, as defined by Davina Cooper. The members of Acorn move away from the past and live in the present, but they are ultimately unable to orient towards the future. Third, Earthseed, which reflects the idea of utopia as process, is analyzed in terms of hyperempathy syndrome and the Destiny. The former can be regarded as body memory, while the latter has a forward-looking dimension that allows Butler to reshape memory and to reimagine conventional elements of utopia. These three kinds of utopian projects come together in an overarching theme of memory, and Earthseed can be considered as the most viable among them.