重閱經典烏托邦

Abstract

本論文試圖透過重新閱讀英國十九世 紀末~二十世紀初作家威爾斯 (H. G. Wells) 的烏托邦作品《現代烏托邦》(A Modern Utopia) (1905)，質疑主流烏托邦史 觀，並揭示威爾斯在烏托邦文學史中所應 擁有的位置。晚近學者對於威爾斯作品的 文學性已有相當程度的認可，然而威爾斯 對於烏托邦文學的貢獻仍有待探討。實 則，無論就文體或內涵而言，《現代烏托邦》 皆超越了十九世紀經典烏托邦的範疇，直 追二十世紀末的女性烏托邦。《現代烏托 邦》的出現，顛覆了十九世紀烏托邦的面 貌，也“打亂”了主流烏托邦史觀的佈局。

This paper aims to reevaluate the significance of H. G. Wells as a utopian through a study of his A Modern Utopia (1905). Given the emergent appreciation of the artistry of Wells, the acknowledgment of Wells’s contribution as a utopian writer still leaves much to be desired. In fact, a revisionary reading of A Modern Utopia may entail a rewriting of the literary history of utopia itself. A dissection of the style and vision of A Modern Utopia will uncover the affinity between A Modern Utopia and the more recent critical or feminist utopias. A Modern Utopia is indeed ahead of its time in many aspects and as a result problematizes canonical utopian history.