以身為誓、歃血為盟：論十九世紀西方吸血鬼敘事中情愛想像的倫理意涵

Vowed over the Body and Sealed with Blood: On the Ethical Consequences of the Amorous Imagination in the Nineteenth-Century Vampire Narrative

本文旨在檢視十九世紀西方吸血鬼敘事中跨越生死界線的愛情想像其倫理意涵，尤其是這樣的愛情牽涉到與「吸血鬼經驗」有關的生物層次議題。本文作者意圖超越主流吸血鬼文學研究中蔚為主流，以「性色化」及「文化政治正確」角度觀照吸血鬼經驗的閱讀方式，而是由倫理（但非關道德）的進路來討論所牽涉的議題。巴帝烏對於愛情的倫理懷想，視之為超越「人類動物」關懷的某種真理實踐過程，正可以揭露某些人鬼互動中「真正」屬於愛情的層面，如同某些吸血鬼愛情故事中可以觀察到的。巴帝烏的愛情倫理思維是根據他對戀人的獨特懷想而來，他們是增補於性（別）化分斷選取所打開的空白之上的「成雙」，若從這樣的愛情倫理來考量，吸血鬼之愛依舊深陷吸血鬼經驗中吃食與性愛的面向，難以熬過真愛之真理實踐過程的力迫。然而，無論屬於人類或吸血鬼的層次，所有形式的愛情都植基在這些生物面向上，這是愛情的本質弔詭所帶來的困境，所有真誠的愛人都必須有所處理。

What are the ethical implications of the fantasy of love ＂across the grave＂ in the nineteenth-century vampire narratives, especially when the love concerns biological issues related to ＂vampirism＂? Since the vampire narratives are not usually intended to be viewed from ethical perspectives, the argument of the present paper follows a line of ethical thought laid out by Badiou to experiment with ways his ethical thought may provoke reflection on vampirism. Badiou's ethical concept of love as a ＂truth procedure＂ that moves beyond mere concerns of ＂human animal＂ helps to uncover the ＂truly＂ amorous aspects of some human-vampire interaction, as exemplified in stories of ＂vampire love＂ like Sheridan LeFanu's ＂Carmilla＂ and Théophile Gautier's ＂The Dead Leman.＂ However, according to Badiou's ethics of love that the loving ＂Two＂ should supplement the void fractured open by the ＂sexuated disjunction＂ between ＂men＂ and ＂women,＂ vampire love must be regarded as too deeply involved in the dietary and sexual elements of vampirism to survive ＂forcing＂ by the procedure of ＂true love＂ yet. However, all forms of love, no matter human or vampiric, rest on these biological elements; this is the predicament that is regarded as love's essential paradox, which all truthful lovers have to negotiate.