借日記／夢境／旅館為媒介的記憶術──鍾文音《想你到大海》的馬偕與張聰明

Mnemonics Through Diaries, Dreams, and Inns: George Leslie Mackay and Minnie Mackay in Zhong Wen-yin’s Missing You, Ocean Deep

本文擬以鍾文音長篇小說《想你到大海》為討論對象，探討其多層次的雙重敘事線。小說以馬偕日記為基底，勾勒其在台灣傳教的歷史經驗，同時利用日記中的「敘述空白」與「有限性」延伸想像，嘗試增補馬偕的內心感受，並投射對其部分行動的思考。更重要的是，該書力圖建構張聰明的生命史。作者借重馬偕日記與傳教史文獻為基礎，施展文學性的「記憶術」，包含透過現代敘事者章米妮在淡水旅館反覆受到「夢婆」託夢與口述，進而決定書寫張聰明故事。另一條線則構想張聰明的筆記內容，呈現對馬偕日記的鏡像互文，此敘事策略亦彰顯張聰明面對馬偕所展現的服從性／主體性之辯證張力。本文將依序分析小說塑造馬偕形象的特色，並借鏡記憶的論述，探討作者如何透過不同形式的記憶術拼貼張聰明的生命史，以及闡述作者藉由兩位傳道者的生命足跡作為橋樑，如何編寫章米妮重新認識並完整自我。

This paper examines Zhong Wen-yin’s novel Missing You, Ocean Deep and its complex dual narrative structure. The novel builds upon George Leslie Mackay’s diary to portray his historical missionary experiences in Taiwan. By exploring the“narrative gaps”and“limitations”within the diary, the text expands the imagination, aiming to supplement Mackay’s inner emotions and reflect on certain aspects of his actions. More importantly, the novel seeks to reconstruct the life story of Minnie Mackay. Drawing from Mackay’s diary and missionary history, the author employs a literary form of“mnemonics,”in which the modern narrator, Chang Minnie, receives recurring dreams and oral accounts from the mythical“Meng Po”at a Tamsui inn, inspiring her to document Minnie Mackay’s story.
The other narrative thread imagines the contents of Minnie Mackay’s notes, presenting a mirror-like intertextuality with Mackay’s diary. This narrative strategy emphasizes the dialectical tension between submission and agency that Minnie Mackay exhibits in her relationship with Mackay. This paper analyzes the distinctive portrayal of Mackay in the novel and, using theories on memory, examines how the author employs various mnemonic forms to piece together Minnie Mackay’s life story. Finally, this paper elucidates how the author uses the intertwined lives of these two missionaries as a bridge to enables Chang Minnie to rediscover and reconcile with her own identity.