Resistance against the Powers of Emperor and God: A Foucauldian Reading of Henrik Ibsen’s Emperor and Galilean

• Main Authors: Yu-Ting Chu, 朱育廷
• Other Authors: Hsin-fa Wu
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/69381798580277055938

碩士 === 國立中興大學 === 外國語文學系所 === 96 === Emperor and Galilean is a self-declared masterpiece by Ibsen which is intended to dramatize his philosophical ideas about the progress of world history. Therefore, the dilemma which the characters face in the play is supposed to have universal significance for each generation in the world. However, even if the play is intended to manage something universal and metaphysical, the background of it is set in a concrete social context which is painstakingly pictured. Therefore, it is possible to see the characters’ actions and life from a perspective which is sociological rather than metaphysical. To undertake such a sociological reading of the play, Foucault’s concepts of power and subject are helpful. According to Foucault’s analysis of panopticism, we can see how Julian’s mentality, behavior pattern and subjectivities are constituted by the surveillance network constructed by the imperial court in collaboration with the Church. In other words, Julian can be seen as a product of specific form of power and social forces rather than the victim of the world-will which suggests a form of determinism of universal scale. Therefore, his apostasy can be viewed as a resistance more against the hegemonic form of subjectivities in a given society than against certain absolute forces in the universe. According to this, instead of a futile attempt to realize one’s true self under the predetermining influence of something universal and irresistible, Julian’s pursuit of self-realization implies a deliberate and relatively successful self-transformation by an individual against the constitutive effect of dominant powers in a society. Thus, seeing from a Foucauldian perspective, we can have a more optimistic view of the tragedy of Julian’s life and apostasy.