被逐出生命饗宴的人：〈憾事一樁〉裡的孤獨輓歌

＂Outcast from Life's Feast＂: Elegy to the Soul's Incurable Loneliness in James Joyce's ＂A Painful Case＂

莊坤良(Kun-Liang Chuang)

孤獨 ； 憾事一樁 ； 倫理 ； 靈魂的伴侶 ； loneliness ； a painful case ； ethics ； soul's mate

逢甲人文社會學報

34期（2017 / 06 / 01）

93 - 106

繁體中文

〈憾事一樁〉是《都柏林人》中最令人傷痛的故事，也是一則有關孤獨的寓言。小說以“A Painful Case”為名，實則是兩件悲劇。一是主人翁達菲的悲劇，一是女主角西尼可夫人的悲劇。這兩個案例，都涉及個體孤獨的存在。達菲與西尼可夫人同是天涯淪落人。達菲的自閉與同性戀傾向，使他不能愛人也不能接受她人的愛，注定孤獨一生。西尼可夫人勇敢追愛，卻被丈夫與情人拋棄，酗酒死於車禍。死亡的西尼可夫人是個明顯的悲劇，但活者的達菲恐是更大的悲劇。本文擬分三方面來討論達菲的孤獨輓歌：第一，從達菲的人格、情慾與愛爾蘭的社會情境來談一個人的自我疏離。第二部分描繪被逐出生命饗宴的達菲，他的孤獨狀態。就像對空盪盪的座位唱歌，他得不到生命的回音與共鳴。第三部談西尼可夫人的死亡審判及其所延伸出讀者對孤獨的閱讀倫理。

＂A Painful Case＂ is one of the most pathetic stories in James Joyce's Dubliners. It is an allegory of loneliness. In fact, the story contains two painful cases: Duffy's case and Mrs. Sinico's case. Both cases reveal a shared tragedy of unbearable loneliness in life. Duffy doesn't dare to love and be loved for his autism and homosexuality. Mrs. Sinico, betrayed by her husband and her lover, becomes an alcoholic and loses her life in a traffic accident. The death of Mrs. Sinico is obviously a tragic case but the living Duffy suffers more as a total loner. This article deals with Duffy's loneliness in three aspects. Firstly, Duffy is depicted as a self-alienated person who keeps a distance from himself and society as well. Secondly, Duffy is expelled from life's feast and doomed to be alone for life. Like singing to empty benches in a music hall, he cannot receive any echoes from life. Lastly, the death of Mrs. Sinico raises the question of ethics in reading. Should we condemn Duffy's guilt and crime? Or should we be more sympathetic towards his living condition? That is the question for all.

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