偵察隱形人：芭芭拉尼利的家傭偵探

Detecting the (In)visible Woman: BarbaraNeely and Her Domestic Sleuth

本文旨在探討美國黑人女性犯罪小說（crime fiction）作者芭芭拉尼利（BarbaraNeely）如何挪用犯罪小說類型語言，再現當代美國社會中階級、種族與性別的權力關係與交互影響。尼利刻意採用意識型態保守的鄉村莊園（country house）犯罪小說類型，創造出獨特的「職業家傭」偵探白蘭琪（Blanche），企圖透過勞動階級黑人女性的雙眼進行社會批判；並藉由白蘭琪的反抗行動，解構黑人女性在美國大眾文化中的刻板印象，讓以往在主流白人社會中被視為「隱形人」的他者們，擁有新的力量。本文以犯罪小說類型傳統為經，非美文學理論與文化傳統為緯，透過詳細的文本分析來檢視尼利的作品。白蘭琪在社會底層求生，卻並非消極被動的受害者；她擁有非美傳統文化中「搗蛋鬼」（trickster）特質，具備欺瞞對手與跨越疆界的能力，並深諳「雙重意識偵察手法」（double consciousness detection），善於利用白人的盲點，遂行她的偵察行動。當尼利讓隱形人現身的同時，其實也成功「翻新」（reinvent）過去非美女性揮之不去的「黑保姆」（black mammy）刻板印象。有論者質疑，鄉村莊園犯罪小說的「封閉性」與「安全結局」，與尼利在作品中不斷挑戰階級、種族與性別的立場互相扞格。本論文認為，尼利並沒有因為類型的先天成規，影響社會批判的力道；相反地，尼利反而藉由挑戰犯罪小說的類型規則，巧妙地維繫讀者對偵探主角的認同，持續傳達其政治立場與批判態度。

This paper aims to explore BarbaraNeely’s crime writing through her creation of the ”domestic detective” series. Providing her heroine with an eye-catching name, ”Blanche White,” Neely brings to the fore black female domestics whose stories and life experiences have been historically marginalized in American society. The author appropriates the generic language of country house crime fiction in an attempt to subvert its conservative ideology and to expose the oppressive power structure of class, race, and gender in contemporary America.This paper will conduct close textual analysis with the help of the generic tradition of crime fiction and African American literary theory and cultural tradition. Although Blanche struggles to make ends meet, she is not a passive victim. She knows how to protect herself through acts of resistance and transgression in the vein of African American tricksters. For her, the racially produced ”invisibility” can be turned into a practical tool, and she makes good use of ”double consciousness detection” by parodying and role playing. Moreover, the detective gets pleasure and feels empowered through this kind of ”masking.” By taking up the subject position as an active individual, Blanche effectively subverts the tradition of minstrelsy. In doing so, Neely also reinvents the stereotypical mammy figure and reaffirms black female cultural identities. However, some critics question the ideology and effectiveness of Neely’s appropriation of country house crime fiction. They believe that when the narrative takes place in a ”contained” space and a ”safe” closure is provided at the end of the story, the author’s critical stance against the institutionalized superstructure will be undermined. To consider the interplay between generic constraints and Neely’s insistence on social criticism, I argue that the author never lessens her attack on the establishment. Instead, Neely strategically unsettles the rules of the genre to offer her poignant critique of America while leaving a ray of hope for the future.