本論文由菲力普・羅斯早期的小說《波特尼的訴怨》所引起的爭論出發，剖析為何在1967年此書出版時在美國大眾與猶太美國裔讀者中會引起一片譁然。第一章處理菲力普・羅斯如何在不斷變異的自傳書寫與敘事想像中成為一位「麻煩的小說家」。由於自傳文學與虛構敘事之對立在羅斯的作品中成為諧擬、諷刺、甚至刻意操弄的議題，本論文第二章處理自傳文學理論與其後現代變異。援引勒熱訥（Philippe Lejeune）的《自傳契約》與奧爾尼（James Olney）的〈自傳的文化時刻〉，本論文強調反身性書寫在自傳文學文類中的重要性，藉此在不完全驅逐作者的前提上將「自傳文學」視為開放且無主的文本。然而「無主」的「自傳」如何可能？本論文第二章後半段探討德希達（Jacques Derrida）於1980年出版的〈文類的律法〉，並以洪席耶（Jacques Rancière）對文學類別的看法補述德希達對於文類的全然解構。洪席耶提出的「再現的蜃影」一方面保留文學的無用之用，另一方面亦強調文學改變世界的政治潛能。第三章以洪席耶的理論閱讀《夏洛克行動》，並強調羅斯挑戰、甚至超越自傳文學／文學類別的書寫方式如何開啟洪席耶所謂的「美學制閾」。第四章則延續美學與敘事的討論主軸，並導入布斯（Wayne Booth）在《小說修辭學》中提出的「預設作者」（the implied author）之概念，試圖洞悉在《安息日劇場》中的敘事者與作家菲力普・羅斯之間的關係。本論文末援引布魯納（Jerome Bruner）生命書寫與心理學理論，一方面點出《安息日劇場》中的「預設作者」與羅斯的微妙相似，另一方面凸顯在文本之外，羅斯的書寫過程如何成為一段小說家的「生命書寫」。本文試圖剖析羅斯如何將此段「生命敘述」與《安息日劇場》內的敘事軸線達成文本內／外之連結。文末將羅斯放置在美國文學的歷史脈絡之中，以前三章呈現的自傳文學、敘事想像、與生命書寫三個層面來理解一介小說大師的敘事美學。

The first chapter of my thesis traces the early reception of the Jewish American writer, Philip Roth. Taking into consideration the controversies following the publication of Portnoy’s Complaint in 1967, the first chapter examines the polemics about Roth’s writings with an emphasis on how Roth navigates between different literary genres and narrative styles. In fact, Roth is known for incorporating different ontological levels and the interplay between them in his work. The interplay between different ontological levels are often manifested through Roth’s apposition of autobiographical and fictional elements. In view of the important role the autobiographical element plays in Roth’s oeuvre, the second chapter reviews scholarly debates in autobiography studies. Taking Philippe Lejeune’s “The Autobiographical Pact” (1975) as a starting point, the second section traces the evolvement of autobiographical studies and highlights the “post-structural turn” that Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson observe in the transition from “autobiography” to “autobiographical narratives” in life writing studies. The “post-structural turn” in life writing studies leads me to discuss the debate between Jacques Derrida and Jacaques Rancière about whether literary genres should exist or not. The third chapter starts with a short overview of the idea of the “mirage of representation.” My understanding of the term enables me to read Operation Shylock: A Confession (1993) beyond the dichotomy of autobiography and fiction. My reading will highlight “the aesthetic regime of art” in Operation Shylock and demonstrate how such aesthetics mediate between the written world and the material world. Chapter four continues the discussion on the aesthetics of narrative strategy and brings in Wayne Booth’s idea of “the implied author” to help elucidate my reading of Sabbath’s Theater (1995) as an agglomeration of literary genres and styles. The concluding chapter focuses on how Roth’s narrative strategies in the two works discussed above engender a more emancipated understanding of both personal identity and the aesthetic of narratives.

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