瑪格麗特．愛伍德之作《使女的故事》和《聖約》中的見證策略
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2022
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瑪格麗特．愛伍德的《使女的故事》自1985年出版就一直在暢銷書排行榜上，Hulu的同名改編影集《使女的故事》更將基列國的反烏托邦世界引入流行文化和現代政治場域。《使女的故事》續集《聖約》更再一次引導人們在基列國和當代美國間尋找相似之處。這兩本小說中所描繪的對女性的虐待和不公對待似乎開始在現實生活中發生，人們因也此上街抗議並採取必要行動，以阻止基列國的惡夢成真。我很好奇為何《使女的故事》和《聖約》和一般反烏托邦只提供刺激的劇情和隱晦的警告不同，這兩本小說得以啟發一場社會運動，究竟它們跟其它反烏托邦小說的不同之處為何？這份論文探索主要文本中各種不同的見證策略，因為我相信加入見證文體的創新技巧正是使這兩本小說獨樹一格之處。我將會探討七項見證策略並將它們分類為現存或愛伍德發明的新策略。其中的六項策略是以兩兩一組的形式呈現：第一組是關於敘事角度；第二組是關於文字和語言的解體及重組；第三組著重於圖像。我還會進一步探討新的見證策略是如何階段式地成形，有時侯現有的見證策略在書中呈現的方式與過去相同，但有時我們也可以看到愛伍德賦予傳統策略新的作用，其最終帶來新策略的誕生。最後，作者的見證則是獨立一章的見證策略，我相信這項策略正式賦予這兩本小說生命的關鍵策略，同時也是愛伍德的原創見證策略。
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has been a bestseller since its publication in 1985, and Hulu’s namesake television adaption series The Handmaid’s Tale further brought the dystopian world of Gilead to popular culture and the current political scene. The publication of its sequel, The Testaments, once again compelled people to draw parallels between the fictional world of Gilead and the modern-day America. The abuses and mistreatment of women described in the novels seem to take form in reality, and people are protesting and taking actions to stop the Gileadean nightmare from becoming a reality. I am intrigued by how, unlike other dystopian fiction that seems to provide only thrills and subtle warnings, these two novels, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments, manage to inspire a social movement. How are they different from other dystopian novels?This thesis explores various testimonial strategies used in my main texts as I believe it is the creative inclusion of the testimonial genre that sets them a part from other novels. I will examine seven testimonial strategies and categorize them as either an existing strategy or a new strategy Atwood invented. Six of the strategies are put in pairs: the first pair is about perspectives and angles. The second part deals with the disintegration and reintegration of words and language. The third pair focuses on images. I will also be showing how sometimes the invention of a new strategy comes in stages. Sometimes we see examples of an existing strategy being used in the novels as it was used in the past, and sometimes we see Atwood give the traditional strategy a twist, which ultimately leads to the invention of a new strategy. And lastly, The Author’s Testimony is a stand-alone strategy that I believe is what really gives life to the two novels and is Atwood’s original testimonial strategy.
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has been a bestseller since its publication in 1985, and Hulu’s namesake television adaption series The Handmaid’s Tale further brought the dystopian world of Gilead to popular culture and the current political scene. The publication of its sequel, The Testaments, once again compelled people to draw parallels between the fictional world of Gilead and the modern-day America. The abuses and mistreatment of women described in the novels seem to take form in reality, and people are protesting and taking actions to stop the Gileadean nightmare from becoming a reality. I am intrigued by how, unlike other dystopian fiction that seems to provide only thrills and subtle warnings, these two novels, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments, manage to inspire a social movement. How are they different from other dystopian novels?This thesis explores various testimonial strategies used in my main texts as I believe it is the creative inclusion of the testimonial genre that sets them a part from other novels. I will examine seven testimonial strategies and categorize them as either an existing strategy or a new strategy Atwood invented. Six of the strategies are put in pairs: the first pair is about perspectives and angles. The second part deals with the disintegration and reintegration of words and language. The third pair focuses on images. I will also be showing how sometimes the invention of a new strategy comes in stages. Sometimes we see examples of an existing strategy being used in the novels as it was used in the past, and sometimes we see Atwood give the traditional strategy a twist, which ultimately leads to the invention of a new strategy. And lastly, The Author’s Testimony is a stand-alone strategy that I believe is what really gives life to the two novels and is Atwood’s original testimonial strategy.
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見證, 愛伍德, 事實, 使女的故事, 聖約, testimony, Atwood, truth, The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments