滋養界線:人類中心主義、維多利亞時期吸血鬼小說以及動物保護運動

Abstract

本研究透過研究伯蘭．史杜克的《德古拉》和弗洛倫斯．馬里亞特的《吸血鬼之血》，以探討維多利亞時代動物保護運動中，吸血鬼與人類中心主義之間的關係。兩部小說皆發表於1897年，正值中上階層盛行動物保護及寵物飼養的年代。兩部小說皆在吸血鬼的描述上，融入了動物性的描述，使其成為動物多樣性的化身，進而帶來一種恐怖感。此種多樣性同時呈現並挑戰維多利亞時代動物保護運動中的人類中心主義。此種人類中心主義為人們根據動物與人類的接近程度，對動物進行的分類與認識。本研究主張維多利亞時代的吸血鬼小說，透過滋養人類對動物理解的界線，倡導一種與當時的主流風氣相比，較非人類中心主義的態度。透過不斷檢討我們對於不同動物態度上的差異，以反思並實現此種非人類中心主義的態度。本研究分為四個章節，第一章說明透過動物與人類之間的親近性與相似性，人類將不同動物分類至一個動物等級體系中，形成在動物保護運動裡，不同階級之人類保護相對應階級之動物的現象。第二章著重於小說《吸血鬼之血》，討論人類中心主義對寵物的利用和解讀，並剖析此種理解如何受到小說中形象如寵物的吸血鬼哈麗特所挑戰。第三章討論德古拉與野生動物的關聯，以揭示此種關聯如何引起人們對德古拉的厭惡，並探討德古拉如何模糊動物分類的界限與人類中心主義對動物的詮釋意義。第四章總結全文，提出本研究認為人類從人類中心主義的視角看待動物並與動物互動是基於人類面對未知動物的恐懼；然而，此種恐懼卻可能也弔詭地開啟了一種以愛來接近未知動物的方法。This thesis studies Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Florence Marryat’s The Blood of the Vampire by focusing on the relationship between vampires and anthropocentrism in the Victorian animal protection movement. Both published in 1897, when animal protection and pet-keeping prevailed in middle-and-upper-class society, these novels incorporate animalistic descriptions into their vampires, making them embodiments of animal diversity that bring a sense of horror. I argue that this diversity both displays and challenges the anthropocentrism in the Victorian animal protection movement, which valued animals according to their proximity to humans. Moreover, this hierarchy intersected with the social hierarchy of humans. By “feeding at the limits” of these hierarchies, Victorian vampire novels, I argue, advocate a rather non-anthropocentric attitude that can be achieved by constant examination of our attitudes to different kinds of animals. In Chapter One, I demonstrate that closeness and resemblance to humans were values that segregated animals into an animal hierarchy. This hierarchy intersects with the social and economic hierarchy of human society. In Chapter Two, I focus on The Blood of the Vampire to discuss the anthropocentric use and understanding of pets and reveal how this understanding is challenged by the novel’s pet-like vampire, Harriet. In Chapter Three, I discuss Dracula’s association of Dracula with wild animals, which elicits people’s disgust. Then I demonstrate how Dracula blurs the boundary of animal categorization and the anthropocentric understanding of animals. In Chapter Four, I conclude my thesis by arguing that the anthropocentric interaction with and understanding of animals was due to humans’ horror of confronting the animal unknown. However, this horror may paradoxically open up chances for love, an approach to the animal unknown.