文學與愉悅 【巴塔耶隨想】| Literature and Pleasure: Thoughts on Bataille's Works
文 / 朱嘉漢 Author: CHU, JA-HAN
譯 / 吳迺菲 Translated by Naifei Wu
「當我呼喊著：『我是太陽』時，全然的勃起便產生了。」
初次閱讀巴塔耶《太陽肛門》，光是這個句子，就令我的思想痙攣。布列東說得沒錯，「美就是痙攣。」只有在產生這種不自主又狂喜的顫動之時，我才會真正感受到文字的最深沉卻最實在的力量。
彷彿不停的言說與聆聽，只為了遇上像這樣一切意義解讀暫時失效的句子。
巴塔耶沒說錯，將不同的概念（「我」與「太陽」）以系詞「是」所連結詞，其興奮如同交媾。在語言中，太陽的確可以連結到肛門。
若在庸常現實之中，我只會是我，在語言之中，我總是我以外的。於是，「我是我（Je suis moi）」成為所有的「我是」的句子當中，最為無聊且無需多談的。
「是」的動詞，亦是「存在」。在語言中，我們總是以不同於我的存在，來定義自己的存在。在語言促使的概念交媾中，「我」的概念永遠是不斷雜交後的物種。
「我是誰？」一疑問，將「我」推向未知的「誰」的探索。我始終與陌生於我的概念交媾。「我」與「誰」將相遇，這是個問題。
語言限定了我們的認知，規範了我們的思考秩序與邏輯。我們在意義中生出，我們在意義中死去。然而我們能遊戲。在語言中盡情遊戲，去曖昧、去嘲諷、去創造，去製造歧異，去讓意義失效，去讓語言自行引爆。語言最大程度的限制我們自由，又最大程度允諾我們自由。在此，我們狂歡，如同色情是超出了繁衍的目的，話語也超越了意義的意義。
有人問過我，小說的樂趣何在？這問題有許多的回答方式。但此刻我會說，當閱讀起小說，你的主體就已經越界。在小說中，你與作者的文字交融，與角色及其所在的世界狂歡，你任意想象，恣意投射，你可以是任何事物。甚至，你是詞語。
創作亦然。在小說啟動的一刻，我將欣喜迎來現實感的崩解，語言與世界的規則無盡供我玩樂。我為了熟悉規則而挑戰規則，反之亦然。
說話吧，書寫吧。一如巴特所說：「語言是皮膚，我以我的語言去撫弄他者。」
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“And when I scream I AM THE SUN an integral erection results[...].”
Upon my first encounter with Bataille’s The Solar Anus, this single sentence alone prompted my thoughts to convulse. Breton’s assertion holds true: “Beauty will be convulsive or will not be at all.” It is only when an involuntary, ecstatic tremor like this arises that I genuinely experience the most profound, palpable potency of words.
It is as though constant acts of speaking and listening exist solely to stumble upon a sentence like this, where all meanings momentarily elude decipherment.
Bataille is not wrong; connecting disparate concepts (like “I” and “the sun”) through the copula, "is," offers an excitement akin to copulation. From a linguistic perspective, it is indeed possible to establish a connection between the sun and the anus.
In the ordinary reality, I am only me/myself; within the realm of language, I am always beyond me/myself. Thus, “Je suis moi” (I am me/myself) stands as the most boring and least deserving of discussion among all sentences starting with “I am.”
The verb, “to be,” implicates “to exist.” In linguistic articulations, we employ beings other than ourselves to define our own existence. The concept of “I” itself is an existence formed through continual hybridization during the conceptual copulations facilitated by language.
Meanwhile, the question “Who am I?” propels “I” into the exploration of “who,” the unknown. “I” engages in conceptual copulations with ideas that are foreign to me. “Who” is “I” going to encounter—that is the question.
Language conditions our understanding; it establishes guidelines for our thoughts and logical reasoning. We come into existence amidst acts of significance, and we die the same way. Nevertheless, we are capable of playing. We can engage in playful acts in the domain of language. We can introduce ambiguity, satire, and creativity; we can generate distinctions; we can render meanings ineffectual and allow language to erupt on its own. Language constrains our freedom to the utmost degree, yet it simultaneously endows us with the highest level of autonomy. In this space, we take pleasure, just as pornography goes beyond reproduction, discourse transcends the meaning of meaning.
Someone once asked me, “What enjoyment do you derive from fiction?” There are numerous approaches to answer this question. At this moment, I would posit that when you start reading a novel, your subjectivity has already transcended boundaries. As you immerse yourself in the novel, you meld with the author's words, partake in the enjoyment alongside the characters and their worlds, and engage in unrestricted imagination and projection. You have the capacity to become anything, even words.
Creation brings about a similar pleasure. From the very inception of novel writing, I enthusiastically embrace the dissolution of the sense of reality. The rules of language and of the world are at my disposal, providing me with boundless amusement. I challenge these rules to become acquainted with them, and in turn, they challenge me, too.
Share your voice! Put words on paper! As Barthes once stated, “Language is a skin: I rub my language against the other.”
