本論文核心論証有二︰其一﹐衍異深化艾得華．薩依德的《東方論述》﹐
嘗試指出殖民論述本身含混複雜的面向﹔其二﹐藉由康拉德的「東方」小
說﹐探討十九世紀末的異域論述及其它相關論述之間的互動協商。論文指
出﹐康拉德小說中的異域﹐是晚近帝國主義的產物﹐對昔日英雄冒險充滿
鄉愁般懷念﹐也隱含對當時全球性殖民擴張的批判。第一章檢視有關康拉
德的既有評論﹐並分析本文在閱讀小說作品時所涉及的方法理論。 本章
指出康拉德小說中的「東方」是一個文化建構的意符﹐是研究殖民文化的
重要關鍵。文中將嘗試深化薩依德所謂的東方論述﹐從傅柯的「論述」概
念出發﹐進一步配搭若干後殖民理論，為閱讀康拉德的「東方」世界﹐另
闢可行的閱讀策略。第二章則探討十九世紀末帝國時代異域論述的歷史特
殊性。 直接影響康拉德寫作「東方」小說的相關論述﹐ 如晚近帝國主義
﹑當時的異域論述 ﹑各式冒險小說及族群誌 ﹐是本章評論的重點。 本
章指出﹐ 康拉德寫作小說﹐不僅回應參與上述論述﹐也表達當時異域論
述底層蘊含的矛盾與焦慮。第三章和第四章則分別從種族﹑性別﹑性以及
冒險小說等論述場域﹐閱讀四部康拉德書寫馬來群島的小說﹐包括《艾梅
爾的蠢行》﹑《群島放逐者》﹑《吉姆爺》﹑和《解救》。 本文指出﹐
前二部小說﹐鋪陳複雜的殖民權力關係﹐也道出其間的矛盾與困境；而後
二部小說﹐主要透過白種男性的認同危機﹐闡釋重塑昔日冒險英雄的時代
意義﹐並委婉地批判當時全球化的帝國主義。 最後﹐本文指出﹐在二十
世紀末重讀康拉德﹐有助於思考當下所謂「後殖民」的問題。 無論康拉
德的異域回憶﹐或若干學者致力研發的後殖民評論﹐ 都不只是對昔日殖
民的鄉愁。康拉德的「東方」小說呈現晚近帝國主義潛在的危機與焦慮；
而後殖民理論則對殖民及其餘波從事批判性思考。二者介入回應殖民論述
﹐見證「重新書寫過去」這個問題的重要性。

The core argument of this dissertation is operating on
two levels. Onone level, this study, as a sympathetic critique
of Edward Said's Orientalism,suggests the need to point to the
complexities and ambivalence of colonialdiscourse. On the
other level, it is a modest attempt to historicize thelate
19th-century exoticism and investigate the extent to which it
interactswith or negotiates forms of discourse with
recourse to Joseph Conrad's"East" novels. This dissertation
argues that Conrad's "East" novels aremediated by late
imperialism, but they are simultaneously a symptomatic indexof
narrative interventions between personal nostalgia for the
heroic past andthe present crises of the Empire. Chpater One
examines the previous Conradianscholarship and anayzes the
"theories" I propose to frame my reading ofConrad's East
fiction. In positing Conrad's "East" as a cultural signifier,
Icontend that Conrad's fiction is crucial for colonial
cultural studies, andthat the "East" in his fiction is never a
true reflection of the 19th-centuryMalay Archipelago, or a mere
discursive medium to sustain the colonialistvision of the
day, as Said might argue. To qualify Saidian Orientalism,
Isuggest that Foucault's concept of discourse, when juxtaposed
and qualifiedwith notions drawn from postcolonial criticism,
offers itself as a helpfultoolbox to read the Eastern world
in Conrad. Chapter Two spells out thehistorical specificity
of late imperialism in which Conrad's writing careerdevelops.
With the focus of attention on the imperial exoticism that
shapesConrad's fiction,I map out the particular discourse of
late imperialism,locatethe extent to which the exotic Other is
brought into question at the time, andtake into account the
discursive formation of the East in Conrad's fiction.This
study deals mainly with four of Conrad's novels set in the
imaginedcommunity of the Malay Archipelago--Almayer's Folly,An
Outcast of the Islands,Lord Jim, and The Rescue. To situate
these novels at the discursive levels,Chapter Three addresses
the complex interaction between late imperialismand such
discourses as gender, race, and sexuality, and explores the
extent towhich these issues are brought into fore in Almayer's
Folly and An Outcast. Bymarking his white male adventurers as
pathological heroes, I suggest, Conraddescribes the imperial
venture of the day with dismay, and highlights
thecontradictions and impasses in the exercise of colonial
power. Chapter Fourdemonstrates that the rhetorical category of
the East in Conrad's novels showsan obsession with a heroic past
and its discontent toward the globalizationof imperialism. As
an exemplary form of adventure fiction, Conrad's exoticnovels,
in the case of Lord Jim and The Rescue, sustain the colonialist
vision,but they also sensitive indicators of the anxieties of
the Empire. The finalchapter suggests that reading Joseph
Conrad in the late 20th century helps putthe term "postcolonial"
into perspective.The remembering practices that engageboth
Conrad and postcolonial critics are more than acts of
nostalgia for thebygone colonialism. Conrad's "East" fiction
expresses ambivalence and anxietyover the crisis of late
imperialism; whereas postcolonial criticism isdistinguished
by its critical engagement with the problem of colonialism
andits aftermath. Their practices demonstrate the significance
of the question ofre-writing the past.Re-reading Conrad today,
then, does not mean relieving theburden of the past. Rather, re-
reading Conrad obliges us to understand thatmore historically
differentiated theories and reading strategies are required.
The core argument of this dissertation is operating on