自戀、亂倫慾望與狼人妄想症：試探《瑪菲公爵夫人》的弗迪南

Narcissism, Incestuous Desire and Lycanthropy: On Ferdinand in The Duchess of Malfi

約翰・魏斯特《瑪菲公爵夫人》一劇描述弗迪南與兄長樞機主教聯手控制瑪菲公爵夫人的情感生活，安插密探波索拉在公爵夫人官邸進行嚴密監控，得知雙胞胎姊姊秘密成婚生子後，進而軟禁她，企圖殺害其丈夫與子女的倫理悲劇。本劇劇末刻劃弗迪南想像自己幻化成狼人，失去理智而發狂，並在一陣混亂當中殺死兄長與波索拉，也被波索拉刺死的悲劇。弗迪南的變形既神秘又難以置信，且為本劇帶來相當獨特的觀賞經驗，本文擬剖析弗迪南的狼人妄想症的緣由與意義，藉此探索他對雙胞胎姊姊瑪菲公爵夫人的不倫慾望與劇尾他因狼人妄想症而具現的身體變形所隱含的文化意義。

 

Ferdinand, in John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, metamorphoses into a werewolf near the close of the play. The transformation of Ferdinand seems mysterious and incredible for its sudden occurrence after the Duchess’s death. Theatrical and spectacular in itself, the appearance of Ferdinand as a werewolf might bring to the fore some questions and uncertainties in an audience’s mind about the significance of such a development. To probe into the kernel, this study intends to explore the cause, the process, and the nature of Ferdinand’s unnatural transformation from a human being into a wolfman.

Ferdinand is plagued by discontents of unidentified origins right from the beginning of the play. To untangle the complex kernel, a study of Ferdinand and his unspeakable desire in relation with his twin sister might be a clue to the mystery of his transformation. Through a reading of the various torture scenes of the Duchess, I would like to investigate Ferdinand’s obsession with his sister. This paper attempts to excavate the seemingly unfathomable and unspeakable male desire embodied and culminated in Ferdinand’s metamorphosis.