「旅行」是跨越疆界的行為。旅人跨越地理與文化的疆界，在異鄉與他者相遇。旅人在異鄉做客，接受當地主人的待客之道；旅人與主人之間的互動成為決定整個旅行意義的重要因素。本文援引德希達 (Jacques Derrida) 的「待客之道」(hospitality) 理論探討英國作家佛斯特 (E. M. Forster) 所著的旅行文本《印度之旅》(A Passage to India)，提供一種新的詮釋分析。德希達認為康德 (Immanuel Kant) 以維護安全和平為理由而建構的「普世待客之道」(universal hospitality) 有其侷限性，是「有條件的待客之道」(conditional hospitality)。真正的待客之道是「無條件的待客之道」(unconditional hospitality)，是不論來者的國籍、宗教、文化、性別與身份，一律予以無條件的接受與歡迎。根據德希達的理論，本文發現在《印度之旅》中，印度人與英國人的「交會」有三個「邀請」(invitation) 與二個「來訪」(visitation)，分別體現「有條件的待客之道」與「無條件的待客之道」，連 結整本小說的三大部分 (清真寺［伊斯蘭教］、洞穴［基督教］、寺廟［印度教］)，呈現小說的主題，共同形成整本小說的結構。以「待客之道」為主題，本文發現殖民主義下的印度與英國關係緊張，主人與客人的互動並無固定的模式，呈現各種不同的多變面向。此外，藉由呈現待客之道與主客關係，《印度之旅》也突顯出人類追尋「家」的意圖與困難。本文的論點共分五部分陳述：一、旅行與待客之道；二、待客之道：康德與德希達；三、《印度之旅》中的待客之道；四、旅行／待客之道的效應；五、不／可能的主人／客人。

Travel is an act of border-crossing. The traveler crosses the geographical/cultural boundary and encounters the other in a foreign country.Being a stranger, the traveler accepts the host’s welcome, assistance and gift.Accordingly, the interaction between the traveler and the host becomes the major factor of the significance of the journey. This host-guest relationship finds a sophisticated case in E. M.Forster’s travel narrative, A Passage to India, which the present paper explores with Jacques Derrida’s theory of hospitality to introduce a new reading of the novel.Derrida’s concern with hospitality comes from Kant’s universal hospitality,which Derrida characterizes as “conditional” for it is “dependent on and controlled by the law and the state police.” For Derrida, the real hospitality is“unconditional hospitality,” which requires the host open up his/her home to welcome the “absolute, unknown, anonymous other.” In light of Derrida’s theory,the present paper argues that in the “contact zone” of the novel, there are three invitations and two visitations respectively embodying conditional hospitality and unconditional hospitality, destabilizing the English-Indian relationship and connecting the three major parts of the novel (Mosque [Islam], Caves [Christianity] and Temple [Hinduism]) into a complete structure.On top of all these, the present paper argues that by presenting hospitality and the host-guest relationship, the novel reveals the difficulty of the English hopes for a “more lasting home” in India and consequently undermines the colonial motives.