"Morphine or Cocaine? "-Sherlock Holmes and the Social Perception of Drugs

「嗎啡還是古柯鹼？」福爾摩斯與毒品的社會觀感

10.6153/NTUSLL.2013.29.02

陳重仁(Chung-Jen Chen)

亞瑟‧柯南‧道爾 ； 維多利亞男性氣概 ； 醫學與文學 ； 毒品 ； 古柯鹼 ； 嗎啡 ； 鴉片 ； 宋塔 ； Arthur Conan Doyle ； Victorian masculinity ； medicine and literature ； drugs ； cocaine ； opium ； morphine ； Sontag

NTU Studies in Language and Literature

29期（2013 / 06 / 01）

25 - 51

英文

在已出版的六十則福爾摩斯故事中，僅有初期的五篇作品直接或間接提及福爾摩斯的毒癮，他的毒癮從華生醫師驚人的問候揭幕：「今天要來點什麼？嗎啡還是古柯鹼？」然而福爾摩斯的毒癮在後續連載漫長的歲月中再也不曾提及，彷彿過往種種癖好就此憑空消失。當代讀者面對福爾摩斯吸毒的習慣可能會感到錯愕而不解：何以受到英國維多利亞時期眾多讀者喜愛的大偵探，竟然會是一個會自行施打在今日被列管為一級毒品的毒蟲？何以本身就是醫師的亞瑟‧柯南‧道爾（Sir Arthur Conan Doyle）要將福爾摩斯創造為一名毒蟲？為什麼福爾摩斯要吸毒？為什麼福爾摩斯選擇使用古柯鹼以及海洛因，而不是當時最為普及的鴉片？這樣的選擇是否呈現特定的文化意涵？為什麼福爾摩斯施打毒品的形象與他偵察探案的英雄形象沒有互相衝突？本論文試圖將毒品脈絡化，以醫學的方法處理福爾摩斯高度爭議的毒癮以及他選用的毒品。標訂福爾摩斯使用毒品的習慣在漫長的連載過程中的座標，舉發毒品在福爾摩斯探案中可能遭受的曲解，套用蘇珊‧宋塔的語彙，藉此將毒品的種種想像「除魅」。透過區分古柯鹼、嗎啡與鴉片三種毒品在十九世紀的文化意涵，本文試圖將福爾摩斯的毒癮置放在醫學史脈絡，透過藥品醫療史與福爾摩斯冒險故事的對比閱讀，將麻醉藥品的使用還原到十九世紀末的歷史框架，發掘毒品在十九世紀末隱具的文化意涵，破除當代讀者對於福爾摩斯使用毒品的迷思，並且藉此論證福爾摩斯使用毒品的習慣非但沒有抵觸英雄氣概的建構，反而為他的形象建構增添精通先進醫學的知識英雄元素，並且強化自我約束的英雄形象。

The drug conundrum of Sherlock Holmes's secretive habit begins with John Watson's startling question: ”Which is it today? Morphine or cocaine?” Among the sixty published adventures of Sherlock Holmes, there are only five passages directly or indirectly alluding to his drug habit. Either in detailed description or in subdued understatements, Holmes's application of drugs have attracted more controversy than their few short lines would appear to merit. This paper attempts to medicalize and contextualize Holmes's contested drug habit and his choice of drugs. Beginning with a textual study of descriptions or inferences of his drug habit, attempts are made to rectify the conception of substances by de-mythicizing, in Susan Sontag's words, its fascination. By differentiating the significance of cocaine, morphine, and opium, this paper reconstructs the masculinity of Sherlock Holmes in an attempt to historicize and de-mythicize the significance of narcotics in the context of medical history. By analyzing the historical background of drug use, this paper attests that Holmes's drug habit does not detract from his image as a hero, but enlarges his image as a man of advanced medical knowledge, self-discipline, and self-control.

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