MrCat Foundation

Harold Pinter 哈洛．品特於今年十二月二十四日過世，享壽七十八歲。他是劇作家，2005 年諾貝爾文學獎得主，作品包括《The Caretaker》、《The Birthday Party》及《The French Lieutenant's Woman 法國中尉的女人》等舞台或電影劇本。

其實我對品特的作品並不熟，只有大四時去外文系選修陳竺筠老師的「現代英國戲劇」接觸到品特 1978 年的劇作《Betrayal 背叛》，還有前一陣子自己讀了他的另一個劇本《Birthday Party 生日派對》。《背叛》真是個很有意思的劇本，記得當時在陳老師的解說之下，對劇情的發展、劇中人物的心理狀態、各種隱喻、反諷，聽得津津有味。而且劇情讓普通觀眾如我比較能夠了解，不像《生日派對》裡最後把 Stanley 逼到抓狂帶走，那麼詭異怪誕……

在我初接觸到《背叛》這個劇本的年代（哇！超過十年了呢），還沒有 MSN 這東西，但是現在再看這個劇本，感覺還真像 MSN 對話記錄：

第一景，1977 年春，一開始，兩個三十多近四十歲的朋友在一家酒館見面：

JERRY

Well...

EMMA

How are you?

JERRY

All right.

EMMA

You look well.

JERRY

Well, I'm not all that well, really.

大約六十行之後還在寒暄，但是……

EMMA

Ever think of me?

JERRY

I don't need to think of you.

EMMA

Oh?

JERRY

I don't need to think of you.

Pause.

Anyway I'm all right.  How are you?

EMMA

Fine, really.  All right.

JERRY

You're looking very pretty.

EMMA

Really?  Thank you.  I'm glad to see you.

JERRY

So am I.  I mean to see you.

然而這可不是懷舊的時候……

EMMA

You know what I found out ... last night?  He's betrayed me for years.  He's had ... other women for years.

JERRY

No?  Good Lord.

Pause.

But we betrayed him for years.

EMMA

And he betrayed me for years.

JERRY

Well I never knew that.

更尷尬的事情還在後頭 ……

EMMA

He told me everything.  I told him everything.  We were up ... all night....

JERRY

You told him everything?

EMMA

I had to.

JERRY

You told him everything ... about us?

EMMA

I had to.

Pause.

JERRY

But he's my oldest friend.  I mean, I picked his own daughter up in my own arms and threw her up and caught her, in my kitchen.  He watched me do it.

EMMA

It doesn't matter.  It's all gone.

JERRY

Is it?  What has?

EMMA

It's all all over.

She drinks.

 

在此第一景就在平淡地介紹了三個主角間（緊張的？）關係中結束。

隨後的第二景在 Jerry 家中，他猶豫了兩個小時，還是打電話找了幾個月沒見面的老朋友 Robert 來談這件事情……

JERRY

And she told you ... last night ... about her and me.  Did she not?

ROBERT

No, she didn't.  She didn't tell me about you and her last night.  She told me about you and her four years ago.

Pause.

So she didn't have to tell me again last night.   Because I knew.  And she knew I knew because she told me herself four years ago.

Silence.

整場戲的對白中，差不多每三五個單字就可以分到一個句號，也許更多些。除了簡短之外，據說這許多的停格、沉默，是品特劇本的特色之一，經常在人物猶豫如何應答、思索抗拒策略時出現。Pause, Silence, 就如同 MSN 對話記錄上許多的遲疑、沉默，都是不必按下「傳送」的表情符號，不必「送出震動」，即足以傳達壓力。

在劇中，他們不時提到 "Just like old times","Oh, a long time ago". 本來過去彷彿美好如詩，但隨著種種變遷，過去的時光、從前，卻好像變成幽靈一般緊緊尾隨，在某個時刻冷不防出來緊緊攫住你，逼你直視、逼你細看，逼你重新演繹前因後果，逼你永遠停格在那千不該萬不該的那一景。

也或許，再重來一次，一切就像寫定了的劇本仍會照章重演？

而背叛是什麼呢？真以為全是我輩掏心掏肺、全是他人忘恩負義嗎？還是在一場權力與宰制之中，發現所佔的絕對優勢只是「自以為」時的錯愕呢？ Robert 說：「No, you didn't know very much about anything, did you?」細想起來，究竟是誰背叛了誰呢？或者背叛與被背叛會自然扯平？或者無所謂背叛，需要的只是 proper arrangements？

而十多年過去了，在十年不停追逐卻毫無所獲的腳步之後，重讀這個劇本，才覺得我彷彿是背叛了誰，又被誰背叛了……

品特大師在耶誕節前夕辭世，這篇對大師作品的粗淺認識與誤讀，加上不成誄辭的雜感，就當是在大師墳前的花海旁擱下的一朵小白花吧。