測繪界線∕弦：聘瓊《梅森與迪克森》中異端的「解」歷史能量

Measuring the Boundary/String: The (De-)historical Energy of Heresy in Thomas Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon

美國近年來有不少作家皆以小說的形式，重新詮釋自殖民地時期以來一些被忽略的或看不見的的歷史片段與記憶。較著名的例子如達克特羅（E. L. Doctorow）的《行軍》（The March, 2005）與《荷馬與籃利》（Homer& Langley, 2009）、伏爾曼（William T. Vollmann）的「七個夢」（SevenDreams）系列小說等等。聘瓊（Thomas Pynchon）的《梅森與迪克森》（Mason & Dixon, 1997）也重新檢視過去美國革命前夕的歷史，從敘述者查利庫克牧師（Rev. Wicks Cherrycoke）的觀點，描述十八世紀從英國派到美洲大陸的兩位地理測繪師，梅森（Charles Mason）與迪克森（JeremiahDixon），為當時的殖民地賓州和馬里蘭州劃定地理邊界的過程。在小說中，此界線卻成了各種不同思維與能量相互激盪的場域，並打破各種不同界線的藩籬。小說中的排版風格更模仿十八世紀的印刷品（大小字體混合、縮寫等），因而整體上下起伏的效果就如能量的波動。此能量的波動或許反映了近來理論物理學中的弦論（string theory），其中弦（而不是粒子）被認為是宇宙的最基本單位。本文試著將弦看成是梅森－－迪克森線的隱喻，成為結合各種幻奇怪誕事件的一條線，其中如會說話的狗（人與動物之間的界線），機械鴨以及它對愛的追尋（人與機器之間的界線），還有跨國種族間的衝撞與互動等等事件，都具體展現這條界線是多方異端能量碰撞的聚集場。同時，聘瓊也企圖顛覆權力所掌控的歷史，讓異端的能量發聲，重新建構自然的「純真性」（innocence）。此「純真性」代表一種對科技的懷疑精神，強調對生態環保的重視。小說因此體現了美國自殖民時期開始到二十世紀這兩百年以來，對各種界線顛覆與反思的歷史。

In recent years, many American writers have endeavored to reinterpret the ignored and invisible fragments of historical memory since colonial times. Most notable are E. L. Doctorow’s March (2005) and Homer & Langley (2009), William T. Vollmann’s Seven Dreams series, and so on. Thomas Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon (1997) also reexamines the historical past right before American Revolution, and through his narrator, Rev. Wicks Cherrycoke, recounts the experience of two surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, in drawing the Mason-Dixon line between Pennsylvania and Maryland. In the novel, this line becomes the space in which various strings of historical thoughts collide, breaking different boundaries that anticipate the cultural diversity of the contemporary world. The novel’s language style also “pastiches” the eighteenth century prints (mixing large and small fonts, abbreviating words), creating a fluctuating pattern much like the waving movement of energy. Such a language pattern reflects the idea in current theoretical physics of string theory, in which string is considered the most basic unit of the universe. Thus, this paper will view the string as a metaphor for the Mason-Dixon line, a line that articulates “miraculous” and absurd fantasies— such as the talking dog (symbolizing the line between human and animal), the mechanical duck (symbolizing the line between human and machine), and other transnational interactions among different races—and becomes the repository of multi-dimensional, conflicting heretical energies. The novel also attempts to subvert the official history constructed by those in power, and calls for the voice of heresy in order to restore the “innocence” of Nature. More important, this “innocence” is also meant to make us take a more cautious view of technology and its associated violence, and to stress the importance of eco-consciousness.