「陌生」指涉人對於人事物法之生住異滅的未知與蒙昧狀態。「陌生人」是在相似與相異之間游離的角色。異文化不一定出自他鄉，陌生人未必來自異邦。疏離於家、國、社群的個人是現代主義小說的主角，異鄉人的觀察或內省演化出「荒謬」、「放逐」、「反叛」等主題。觀看陌生人及反思「觀看」模式對異己與自我的建構之關聯則是後現代小說常探討的課題。 本文擬以卡爾維諾之《帕洛瑪先生》為重心，將帕洛瑪對異己的觀看及其反思與卡夫卡、沙特所刻畫的陌生人作對照，以期凸顯卡爾維諾在思考「文化差異」上的貢獻。本文主要課題包括：「陌生人」的概念如何形成？異己的「他者性」（alterity）及「蠻性」（monstrosity）和主體建構的關聯為何？ 作者認為在探討主體性之建構與文化差異時，「四元模式」比「二元模式」的「主奴辨證」（master and slave dialectics）以及「三元模式」的「模擬慾望」（mimetic desire）更加完備與豐富。「四元模式」所強調的是能包容相反、矛盾與相似（contrariety, contradiction, implication）關係的「場」（field）。在自我認同時「場」提供更周延的選擇；在全球化的趨勢中「場」模式提供更多對話、談判與翻譯的空間。在此四元模式中，「傳統」及「社群」不是一靜止的存在，也不是一整合的霸權，而是相反、矛盾與相似關係交會的節點。在此模式中，異己在吾人認知中不會失去其他者性（alterity），因異己不被當作一抽象的範疇，而是一能動的關係。

The “stranger,” referring us to both the other and the self, designates a character caught between similarity and difference, identity and detachment. How we regard the stranger is pertinent to how we regard the self and “le regard” of the other. This paper focuses on the interrelation between the mode of vision and the ethical response of the “stranger.” Three types of stranger are analyzed in terms of three diverse ways of seeing the other, and each type is discussed with references to example of contemporary fiction. (1) “The self-alienated” and the pertinent “projective looking” are exemplified with Jean-Paul Sartre's Nousea. (2) “The superfluous” and the pertinent “responsive looking” are discussed with short stories and aphorisms of Franz Kafka. (3) “The traveler” and the pertinent “reflective looking” are analyzed with Italo Calvino's Mr. palomar. The main themes of this paper include: Howe the idea of the stranger is constructed? How such construction is related to the laterity and monstrosity of the other? How the alterity and monstrosity of the other is incorporated into the construction of the self? The author argues that in discussing subjectivity and cultural difference the “quartet mode,” which encompasses the relations of similarity, constract, and contradiction, is more comprehensive and productive than the “binary mode” of “master and slave dialectics” and the “ternary mode” of “mimetic desire.” The “quartet mode” suggests a “field” which surrounds the self and the other, and provides space of dialogue, negotiation, and translation for diverse sides. In the quartet mode, the alterity of the other will not be erased in constructing the self, for the other in such a conception is not merely an abstract category but an active participant of dialogue.