年輕作家謀殺案——談阿庫寧《海鷗》的主題與變奏

The Murder of a Young Writer – On Akunin’s The Seagull

2000年俄羅斯當代小說家阿庫寧（Б. Акунин）於《新世界雜誌》發表兩幕喜劇《海鷗》，以契訶夫（А.П. Чехов）同名劇作最後一幕的部分內容為基礎，藉舞台指示更改關鍵細節將自殺的悲劇轉變為密室謀殺案。本文試圖分析作家如何運用後現代的解構、互文、超文本等手法重新詮釋著名經典文本。阿庫寧一方面保留原著中的對話，卻憑諸多表現性情與動作的舞台指示變更上下文的意義，另一方面維持且誇大各角色在原劇最易辨識的負面性格設定形象，大幅改變其個性與相互關係，賦予每個人物殺害年輕作家的動機。作家筆下的人物和現代人有相同的問題——抽菸、酗酒、酒後亂性、始亂終棄，面對類似的困境——配偶出軌、雙性戀、保護動物等課題，乍看之下，整齣劇有如肥皂劇般無稽荒謬。新《海鷗》以八個不同版本的結局表達後現代沒有唯一真理的重要概念，既嘲諷近百年來對大師經典劇作千篇一律的詮釋，也反映紊亂失調的當代社會的荒誕，描繪現代人無法找到自我價值定位的痛苦，同時提醒人們在重視物質消費、道德淪喪的現代社會，應該培養自我認同當個有文化的人。

Boris Akunin’s play The Seagull, subtitled “A Comedy in Two Acts”, was published in literary journal Novyj Mir in 2000. Taking the plot from part of Chekhov’s last act, Akunin turns the tragedy of suicide into a locked-room mystery by inserting an abundance of stage directions. Thus, eight takes of irrelevant investigation are formed. The writer exploits the tactics of postmodernism: deconstruction, intertextuality, hypertext, etc. In Chekhov’s text he embeds the stage directions indicating the roles’ temperament and movement to alter the connotation of context. Besides, by distorting the characters’ personality and their relationships, he gives each of them the reasons to kill the young writer. The roles in new The Seagull share the same problems with people living in the modern society. At first glance, it looks like a ridiculous soap opera. However, eight different takes of Akunin’s play not only ridicule the clichés of interpreting the classic play, but also reflect the absurdity of the chaotic society, where the material and consumer culture prevails and the morality disintegrates. Most important of all, it reminds people in the modern world to be cultivated.