戰爭的寓言威廉．伏爾曼《歐洲中央》中的科技與創傷主體

當代美國文壇中，威廉．伏爾曼(William T. Vollmann)算是近來逐漸獲得矚目的作家之一。其作品往往結合歷史與虛構，試圖重新建構美國過去的歷史，如正在進行中的《七個夢》(Seven Dreams)系列小說，卽以北美大陸從古到今的歷史為背景，想像各種族之間的互動與衝突。而二○○五年出版的《歐洲中央》(Europe Central)，伏爾曼更把歷史的焦點轉移到二次大戰期間，在納粹德國和蘇聯的激烈衝突中，以多重的敘事觀點，重新審視兩方的藝術家、作曲家、背叛者、烈士、甚至小士兵等等如何面對戰爭所造成的創傷。佛爾曼也因這本小說於二○○五年獲得美國國家圖書獎。伏爾曼在小說開頭卽以電話為比喻，描寫其網路就如章魚的觸角一般深入到歐洲中央的戰場中。電話成為極權政治發號施令以及掌控（或竊聽）主體無孔不入的科技工具。在此恐怖統治的陰影下，本文將探討佛爾曼如何藉由兩方藝術家的經歷，尤其是德國畫家凱特‧柯勒惠支(Käthe Kollwitz)，蘇聯作曲家蕭斯塔高維契等，呈現戰爭的殘酷，無辜者的苦難、以及在倫理的「灰色地帶」中內心道德的掙扎。更重要的是，佛爾曼想把他的小說轉變成一個戰爭的寓言，並呈現主體多重且彼此對話的意識，在後九一一時代，對戰爭所帶來的創傷，不失為一種反思與警示。

In contemporary American literature, William T. Vollmann has been recognized as a particularly notable writer. His novels often mix history and fantasy, attempting to reconstruct American historical memory from the past to the present, notably as in his ongoing series of novels, Seven Dreams. Set in the historical background of the North American continent, the series reimagines the interaction and conflicts between different ethnic groups. As for his recent novel, Europe Central (2005), Vollmann sets his eyes on World War II, employing multiple points of view to investigate how artists, traitors, martyrs, soldiers, even ordinary people face their own respective trauma incurred by the conflict between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union. Vollmann won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2005 because of this sophisticated novel. In Europe Central, Vollmann uses telephone as a metaphor to describe how the network of totalitarian regimes infiltrates individual and collective lives in the war zone. Telephone also becomes the technological instrument that allows both regimes to give orders and control, or eavesdrop on the subject. This paper will explore how the artists on both sides, under the terrorizing strategy of control, face the cruelty of the war, the innocent victims, and their internal struggles in the“gray zone”of ethical dimension. More importantly, Vollmann turns his novel into a parable of war, presenting a multiple and ambiguous variety of consciousness. For the post-911 period, this novel can be regarded as an important retrospection and warning on the historical trauma brought by war.