重現《愛麗絲》：維多利亞式奇觀與光學

Re-animating Alice: Victorian Spectacles and Optics

在維多利亞時代大量出現的所有創新發明之中，各種光學設備的發明改變了人類看待世界的方式。本文旨在檢視查爾斯．路德維吉．道奇生（Charles Lutwidge Dodgson）對魔術燈籠與相機這類光學設備的喜愛，以及他如何把這些設備的擬像，融合到他歷久彌新的《愛麗絲》系列裡。道奇生從小就對各種光學新道具的發展很著迷，後來還變成一位很投入的業餘攝影家，攝影逾二十年。雖然當時的攝影術面對不少挑戰又所費不貲，道奇生還是設法拍出數千幅影像。他在攝影方面的多產影響了他的文學作品。除了攝影以外，魔術燈籠（一種早期投影機）的使用方式也深深吸引道奇生。這種設備讓影像得以展示，也促使私下觀看變成了公眾共賞。在《愛麗絲》系列中，道奇生透過約翰．田尼爾（John Tenniel）的插圖展現了自身對於兩種光學設備的觀點。藉著探索流行光學新發明所預言的視覺新疆界，道奇生的敘事與田尼爾的圖像維持了一種持續性的指涉關係，讓文字遊戲與圖像遊戲得以彼此增益。道奇生如何出神入化地玩弄文字，跟他對光學的深刻讚賞是密不可分的，只有完整體會到這一點，我們才能真正看出《愛麗絲》二書的本質──一種經得起時間考驗的視覺／言詞奇觀。

Out of all the abundance of new-fangled innovations and marvels in the Victorian age, it is perhaps the invention of various optical devices that forever altered the way people view the world. This paper aims to examine Charles Lutwidge Dodgson's (Lewis Carroll) affinity towards optical devices such as the magic lantern and the camera and how he incorporates a simulacrum of them into his perennial Alice books. Dodgson was fascinated by the development of various optical gadgets as a child and later became a dedicated amateur photographer for over two decades. Besides photography, Dodgson was also intrigued by the use of the magic lantern, a rudimentary projector. The device enables the showing of images and propels private viewings to public appreciations. Dodgson's experience with the two optical instruments has been infused into the Alice books via John Tenniel's illustrations. By exploring new visual boundaries heralded by popular optical contraptions, Dodgson's narrative and Tenniel's graphics maintain a constant referential relationship that is reciprocally enhanced in their play with word and image. Only through a thorough appreciation of how Dodgson's masterful play on words is inseparable from his acute appreciation of optics can one truly view the Alices as they are-visual-verbal spectacles that transcend the test of time.