拜倫《唐璜》第二章中的儀式性暴力與異質聖餐

“The longings of the cannibal arise”: Ritualistic Violence and the Alternative Eucharist in Canto II of Byron’s Don Juan

宗教在拜倫的詩作中扮演了極為重要的角色。騷賽將拜倫歸類為所謂的「撒旦派詩人」，足以顯示他的宗教觀是促成其道德顛覆性的主要因素之一。例如在《該隱》和《天堂與凡麈》等作品中，拜倫挑戰了傳統基督教的世界觀與神義論。然而，儘管被視為典型的懷疑論者，拜倫對於天主教卻持有另類的正面態度，特別是對該宗教的物質與身體層面有著濃厚的興趣。有鑑於此，本文檢視拜倫在《唐璜》第二章的船難場景中對於食人的措繪；在這場海上災難的敘事中，宗教母題與飲食相關的身體意象交織出幽默但卻令人不安的神聖氛圍。透過法國哲學家吉哈對於儀式性暴力的論述，本文進一步探討拜倫如何將佩德里洛遭同伴分食的場景重塑成基督受難與聖餐禮的異質再現，反映了他對天主教儀式的深刻理解，以及在唯心式與唯物式詮釋之間擺盪不定的神學辯論。在拜倫筆下，佩德里洛呈現出的基督形象模糊了精神與物質之間的界線，也消解了儀式和神學概念之間的指涉關係。對於拜倫來說，宗教經驗在貌似純粹的精神性之下，乃是奠基於劇烈的身體暴力與耗費之上。

Religion contributes significantly to Lord Byron’s multifaced nature. On one hand, his religious nonconformity is attested by the notorious appellation of“the Satanic School”coined by Robert Southey and manifested powerfully in works such as Cain: A Mystery and Heaven and Earth, in which Byron challenges conventional Christian doctrines. On the other hand, despite his famed religious skepticism, Byron shows curious affinity for Catholicism, especially the materialistic and bodily aspects of the religion. With this critical awareness, I examine Byron’s poetic representation of the shipwreck episode in Canto II of Don Juan. The narrative of this horrible catastrophe at sea is constructed with religious motifs, with which Byron interweaves somatic imageries particularly pertaining to consumption; that is, eating and drinking. Moreover, Byron utilizes what theologians would term as“sacrificial language”to depict Pedrillo’s death and the ensuing cannibalism as an alternative embodiment of Jesus’s Passion and the Eucharist, which can be further deciphered with Rene Girard’s theorization of the surrogate victim in ritualistic violence. I argue that Byron’s depiction of cannibalism engages with the theological debate over Holy Communion, especially the dynamics between idealistic and materialistic interpretations of the ritual. I will further propose that by posing Pedrillo as a potential Christ figure, Byron annuls the division between the ritualistic and the spiritual. Such a division is sustained by a relationship of signification, which is dismantled when the Eucharist is literally actualized by those who cannibalize Pedrillo. Religious experience for Byron, as the essay concludes, is intrinsically bound with violent consumption of the body, despite constant efforts of spiritualization.