艾倫‧霍林赫斯特在《美的線條》當中，精雕細琢卻又帶著一絲諷刺地描繪了1980年代英國中產階級政治家的偽善態度。其精細的筆觸與描寫，更為他奪下了2004年的曼布克獎。然而，儘管《美的線條》為霍林赫斯特的寫作生涯帶來的莫大的成功，許多學者卻認為霍林赫斯特應該提供小說中的同性戀角色們（尤其是主角尼克‧蓋斯特）一個更美好的結局，而非以負面的觀點呈現同性戀間的情愛關係。簡言之，他們擔心霍林赫斯特的作法會加深人們對當代同性戀者們的負面印象。相對於這些學者的批評，海瑟‧愛則觀察到，當代的同性戀者們不斷地嘗試將「酷兒」的黑暗面拋諸腦後，以便將同性之愛去汙名化。因此，當代的同性戀者似乎必須強迫並規範自己以滿溢的「正面能量」談論自身的性取向。莎拉‧艾哈邁德也指出，在當前的社會中，「不快樂」被視為是群體利益的威脅。因此，為了鞏固全體人民的利益，「快樂」已成為了弱勢群體的責任。但她同時也認為，酷兒群體的（不）快樂能夠質疑並妨礙異性戀主義及其恐同邏輯在社會中的運作。以海瑟‧愛與莎拉‧艾哈邁德的理論著作為出發點，本論文將尼克的政治冷感詮釋為1980年代英國同志對自身所處之曖昧政治地位的回應與抵抗：一方面，柴契爾主義的盛行，使「個人自由」的地位大幅提升；另一方面，在愛滋病爆發與日趨嚴重的恐同思想影響之下，同志不得不隱藏自身的同性之愛。易言之，本論文試圖探討艾倫‧霍林赫斯特《美的線條》中同性戀角色的情感經驗、構想一能容納酷兒負面性的情感政治，並藉此打破當前酷兒論述所面臨的政治僵局。

Mainly using Heather Love’s and Sara Ahmed’s works on “queer affects,” this thesis aims to explore the affective lives of the gay characters and argues for an alternative form of politics for queer affects in Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty. Hollinghurst’s Man Booker Prize winning novel, The Line of Beauty, is praised for its sophisticate yet ironic presentation of the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie politicians in the United Kingdom during the 1980s. Despite its success, some critics worry that The Line of Beauty may reinforce the negative image of queer people because it fails to offer a positive ending for the gay characters, especially for the protagonist, Nick Guest. However, as Heather Love notes, contemporary homosexuals have tried to forget the dark side of queer life to destigmatize same-sex love. Therefore, it seems now compulsory for the queer to “feel positive” about their sexuality. Similarly, Sara Ahmed also points out that “happiness” has now become a duty for the marginalized, but she adds that queer (un)happiness is interruptive to the compulsory happiness in a heteronormative society. Taking Love’s and Ahmed’s arguments as the departure, this thesis attempts to conceive an alternative form of politics that incorporates the “sad” queer to break the impasse of contemporary queer politics during the era of Neoliberalism. With this form of politics, I try to read Nick’s political indifference not only as a passive response but also an affirmative form of deconstructive resistance against the paradoxical situation where individual freedom conflicts with one’s right to express same-sex desires under Thatcherism.

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