| Abstract: | 禮物在十八世紀英國意涵為何？有別於現代性認為禮物只是一種純粹的良辰美意，英國十八世紀禮物文化牽動了階級、性別、個人認同，社會權威和財產等諸多概念的變遷，哲學家John Locke提出的天賦人權(natural rights) 概念之一就是國家或教會提供教育機會給窮人，教育被現為一種禮物的給予，窮人在獲得知識後應適當的回報，交換 (exchange)顯而易見。禮物所引觸的互動和交換的關係，有別於市場經濟勞資雙方的關係，所以統治者藉由禮物達到與被給予者之間的情感聯結會更鞏固其統治的利益。然而教育本身充滿了弔詭，亦即受教育者不一定會依循既定的互動交換模式與國家社會產生互動的關係。再者，禮物的給予者與被給予者會因時代的變動而產生不一樣的互動，兩造的權力義務關係不是默契，而是一種不對等關係。 本文就依循十八世紀禮物概念來檢視 Pamela 小說中 Mr. B 和女主角 Pamela 的互動，還有 Pamela 與其他角色的關係，以便更清楚地映照出 S. Richardson 的小說是否如其所言是作為教導年輕女孩如何在權力世界中保護自己的行為手冊 (conduct manual)？亦或是小說的文本性 (textuality) 不言自喻的挑戰了十八世紀禮物概念？ Pamela 在豆蔻之年進入 Mr. B 家不久就獲得老太太的首肯可以閱讀與書寫。相對之下，Mr. B 給予華服金錢則可視為父權系統給予其依賴者之禮物，促使依賴者因此奉獻其勞力、服務、貨物、敬仰，從此父權與依賴者產生了感情聯結 (affective attachment)。Pamela 在正式成為女主人後，在宅第打賞眾僕人的舉止也可視為一種禮物給予的行為，此均涉及了階級、性別、自我認同、社會意識和財產等概念的變動。Mr. B 伊始用華服收買攏絡 Pamela，一便一親芳澤，在多次不對等的對峙後，階級藩籬被打破。Pamela 也給 Mr. B 一件她編織已久的背心；衣服做為身體的隱喻，使其互贈之衣物蒙上情色之意。情色禮物 (amatory gift) 中的情慾顛霞了市場經濟中實質利益的交換，但也符合了情慾自我利益的追求。Pamela 或多或少契合了英國十八世紀的禮物文化，但文學作品不是行為手冊，Pamela 的背心使其進入了上流社會的系統，的禮物對 Pamela 而言是更牢靠的掌控，而讀者也讀出了書寫 Pamela做為少女禮物的深層意涵。
What were the specific implications of gift in the 18th century England? In distinction to the pure gift proposed by some modernists, the 18th century gift culture involved class, gender, self-identity, social power, private property, etc. One of the ideas inherent in John Locke’s Natural Rights was that education should be given fairly by the government to the poor as a gift. In so doing, the ruling class would solidify their interests; however, the ruled and educated were not necessarily in line with the government, that is, they might challenge the authority. There was always an asymmetrical relationship between the two parties. This paper will examine the 18th century gift culture in terms of characterization of Pamela and Mr. B, the entanglement of their relationships in their lopsided interactions, the description of paternalism, of patronage, of Pamela’s rebel words, of female’s self-consciousness, of servants’ collective disobedience, etc. to reflect upon Richardson’s exclamation that the novel was, in place of the then popular manual conduct, to guide young innocent females to protect themselves. Or, the textuality of Pamela has brought the 18th gift culture into question? Pamela was at a tender age when she served at Mr. B’s mansion, but she was allowed to read and write by the old lady. Differently, Mr. B gave Pamela luxurious clothes as a gift as a signal of his paternalism in exchange of her obedience, devotion, deference, and body. Among these give-aways, there was a pair of stockings that made Pamela blush. In return, Pamela gave Mr. B a waistcoat upon which she had spent time and effort. Clothes as a metonymy of body parts had been an18th century cultural practices. Stockings and waistcoat therefore have strong implication of eroticism, which is self-interest and upsets the materialism of market economy. The waistcoat had ushered Pamela into the upper class, and the novel as a gift at once reflected Richardson’s thought to wield a more valid control over young female’s emerging self-conscious, and readers are able to read between the lines with insights. |
