在家的漂泊：拉希莉小說中旅行的再定義

Home Yet Away: Redefining Travel in Jhumpa Lahiri's Fiction

當代印裔美籍作家拉希莉的小說反映了當代動盪移居的人文現象，也提供研究旅行問題文化反思的場域。本文聚焦於「旅行」議題，因為拉希莉的旅人故事富涵卡普倫所標舉的後現代精神，挑戰「在家／離鄉」、「旅行／日常生活」和「本土／異國」等二元對立概念。本論文援引卡普倫旅行的後現代論述、范登阿比利的旅行隱喻、馬克卡內的「休閒階級」和畢利「平庸國家主義」等理論，探討「家」的去中心後現代特質，檢視她對跨國「休閒階級」的批評和旅行「現代性」在日常生活中的運作，最後探究隱藏在「美式和平」美麗口號下充滿文化霸權的國家主義。

In addressing the phenomenon of the rising popularity of traveling as well as the widespreading effect of ethnic displacement, both Caren Kaplan and Elizabeth Bishop explored the topics based on their own personal experiences as travelers. They pose the question of what would grow into this phenomenon of travel and lifestyle, and what reality hides behind imperialist travelers' description of cultural differences. In response, this paper attempts to present an analytical model of Jhumpa Lahiri's fiction in which she challenges the structuralist oppositions of home/away, native/foreign and travel/everyday life, offering a fresh perspective in cultural criticism and a new aspect to the literary tradition of travel narratives. This essay will examine how Lahiri's stories provide a postmodern narrative of 'home yet away' in the light of Kaplan's theory and how her characters' 'leaving home' acts as a powerful expression of young wills to battle against patriarchal tradition which George Van Den Abbeele interprets as a weighty metaphor. In addition, it further explores Lahiri's satire of 'the international leisure class' by Dean MacCannell, whereas travel is neither seen as a special occasion of leisure, nor does it stand in opposition to everyday life. And finally, the essay will emphasize Lahiri's critique of the American hegemony which Michael Billig calls 'Banal Nationalism' in one of her stories about travelers.