第三空間的交涉:鍾芭•拉希莉《醫生的口譯員》中的悅納異己

Abstract

身為一位印裔美籍離散作家，鍾芭•拉希莉在短篇故事集《醫生的口譯員》中變換觀點，以突顯由於來自不同文化背景，所導致人與人之間溝通的差異性。此外，她著重於描繪一代和二代印裔美籍女性文化身分的變化以及差異。另一個此作品中的共同點在於，許多短篇故事圍繞於家中場域，關於主人/女主人和客人間的待客之道。表面上主客關係兩者明確劃訂；然而，所謂「主」ヽ「客」身分卻隨兩者間持續的交涉而具流動性，因此，家的場域也因不同文化背景人們的遭遇ヽ衝擊而成為多元文化交涉的平台。

本論文分為三個章節。在第一章中我介紹德希達待客之道的概念。但由於待客之道侷限於主客間矛盾但必要的相互潛在敵意。因此，我加入伊瑞葛來對待客之道的反思。為將主客關係推向另一層次，她主張自我以及他者共同創造第三空間的可能性，藉以達到悅納異己的可能性。由於故事中不同角色心態導致主客交涉過程的差異性，因此我在第二章中比較一代以及二代印裔美籍女性的心態以及「家」對她們的意義。第三章中，我融入德希達以及伊瑞葛來兩者對待客之道的論述，以分析對比《醫生的口譯員》三個短篇故事中，主人以及客人從相互敵對，乃至於因為第三空間的創造，而具有真正悅納異己的可能性。在結論中，我探討待客之道倫理中，無條件好客不可能性中潛在的提昇以及可能性。As an Indian diaspora writer, Jhumpa Lahiri uses the writing device of perspective shiftings to accentuate communications among human beings from different cultural milieus in her short story collection Interpreter of Maladies. Besides, she especially explores female Indian diaspora’s mentality. Although many of the stories entail the host/hostess-guest encounter in the domain of home, the role of host/hostess and the guest remains fluid and reversible throughout their interrogations.

I divide my thesis into three chapters. Chapter One introduces Derridean hospitality. Nevertheless, since host-guest hostility hinders the possibility of unconditional hospitality, I combine Irigaray’s reflection on the structure of hospitality. In order to push hospitable encounters to another level, she suggests the creation of a spatial third so as to potentiate mutual hospitality. Chapter Two underscores the analysis of first-and second-generation female Indian diaspora’s psychology in the process of expatriation. Such various mentalities contribute to different layers of hospitable Self-Other interrogations. As a result, in Chapter Three, I employ Derridean and Irigarayan hospitality to compare and contrast three layers of hospitality and the negotiating process from mutual hostility to the possibility of mutual sharing of life. In Conclusion, I argue that possibilities lie beneath the seeming impossibility of unconditional hospitality as a result of the establishment of the third space.