「微非不足道」：論吉兒伯特《萬物印記》中的苔蘚、性別和墾殖世

“Not Unloved Ones”: Moss, Gender, and the Plantationocene in Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things

美國吉兒伯特的小說《萬物印記》訴說十九世紀墾殖世下女科學家愛瑪一生的故事。本文從批判性植物研究的觀點，以苔蘚這個在墾殖世下不受重視的植物為例，探究破除苔蘚盲的可能，以及苔蘚如何成為愛瑪相伴一生的物種。論文區分為三部分：(1)「墾殖世的植物探勘和規訓—疏離的親密關係」爬梳愛瑪的父親在費城建立白畝莊園以收藏展示來自全球各地的珍奇植物與花卉。彰顯這種墾殖園式植物收藏與展示的問題性。(2)「墾殖世的苔蘚微小力量—苔蘚的不可同化性」探討愛瑪如何轉向從事苔蘚研究，並藉由馬德對苔蘚的哲學分析，以及參照基默爾的《三千分之一的森林》一書中對於苔蘚的詩意詮釋，將新興的苔蘚研究放在批判性植物研究的脈絡下，強調在墾殖世下破除苔蘚盲的意義。(3)「反墾殖世—女性、親密與照護苔蘚」討論愛瑪透過與苔蘚的相遇與照護，突破女性在十八世紀植物學領域的「優雅植物學」的刻板印象，並以照護苔蘚為畢生志業，成立苔蘚洞穴館與世人分享，在墾殖世下開創新的可能。

Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel The Signature of All Things (2013) is a fictional account of Alma Whittaker’s life as a female scientist during the Plantationocene in the 19th century. Despite the botanical explorations, medicinal plants imports from overseas colonies, and immense wealth, the Whittaker family’s grand estate in Philadelphia, USA, could not shield Alma from solitude in her twenties. Ultimately, she found solace in the microcosm of mosses, glimpsing the cosmos within. Drawing on critical plant studies, this article examines the case of mosses, an overlooked plant in the Plantationocene, to explore how mosses became the species that accompanied Alma throughout her lifetime. The article consists of three parts. The first section investigates how the affluent Whittaker family, with their sprawling manor, meticulously designed Greek garden, and extensive grounds, shaped Alma’s early egocentrism. The second part of the essay draws upon the Spanish critical plant studies scholar Michael Marder’s perspective on moss and Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Gathering Moss (2003) to illustrate how dismantling moss blindness in the Plantationocene was important and how moss carries the power of the inassimilable to shed light upon Alma’s later life experiences. Finally, the third section describes Alma’s awe-inspiring experiences of Tahiti’s moss-covered caves. Motivated by this encounter, Alma uses her passion and knowledge to create the Cave of Mosses permanent exhibition at the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam, operated by her maternal uncle’s family, making it possible to cultivate care for the unloved plants in the Plantationocene.