Widow Mothers and the Bastard: Alternative Histories in Shakespeare's "King John"

寡母與私生子：《約翰王》劇中所呈現的另類歷史

10.6258/bcla.2000.53.08

鄭惠芳(Wai-Fong Cheang)

莎士比亞 ； 約翰王 ； 歷史 ； 女性 ； 私生子 ； Shakespeare ； King John ； history ； women ； bastard

臺大文史哲學報

53期（2000 / 11 / 01）

213 - 247

英文

莎士比亞的歷史劇，長久以來，皆被以男性為中心的讀法所主導，但這種讀法，並無法解釋女性角色所開展的戲劇空間。本文藉重讀《約翰主》，試圖再現劇中三位母親在男性歷史中的重要性。一方面說明劇中以父之名所執行的權力鬥爭，都無法脫離母親的關鍵性影響；另一方面指出由邊陲逐漸中心化的私生子角色，不僅突顯其母親所代表的女性顛覆力量，亦強烈反諷以正統為名的意識形態。本文強調，將閱讀焦點轉移，跳脫以男性為中心的讀法，不難發現《約翰王》原本就是多聲的，劇中並未將女性完全邊緣化，而是將其視為歷史的構成要素，透過女性角色可反映出父權體制所內含的荒謬性。

Even though there is a commonplace impression that Shakespeare's history plays are about men, not about women, the enormous textual spaces given to the female characters and the bastard in King John manifest that besides official ”history,” there are alternative histories.This paper rereads King John to foreground the significance of the widow mothers and the bastard. It argues that the main legitimacy contention in the play, though carried out in the name of the father, is under the influence of the mothers. It also calls attention to the bastard's importance. His presence echoes women's subversive power. His infamous status mocks a system based on legitimate patriarchal lineage.This paper stresses that King John is inherently multivocal and ambiguous. The widow mothers and the bastard are dramatized within the multivocal space of the play as crucial constituents of history. The play invokes their alternative histories against the legitimate ”his story” it represents.

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