Stream of consciousness' and feminist narratives in Republican Chinese women's literature
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Date
31/07/2021Item status
Restricted AccessEmbargo end date
31/07/2022Author
Liu, Yixin
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Abstract
Relocating the originally Western notion of “stream-of-consciousness” (SOC) to
Republican China, this study examines this narrative style in Republican
women’s literature from the perspective of feminist narratives. It presents an
analysis of three literary techniques that frequently appeared in Republican
women’s writings, not only as SOC narrative strategies, but also as modes of
feminist expression: interior monologue, free indirect discourse and montage.
This research shows that in the Republican era, in addition to Lin Huiyin 林徽
因 (1904-1955) who has been considered a pioneer in SOC writing, several
other contemporary women writers, including Lu Yin 庐隐 (1898-1934), Ling
Shuhua 凌叔华 (1900-1990), Chen Xuezhao 陈学昭 (1906-1991), Ding Ling
丁玲(1904-1986), Ge Qin 葛琴 (1907-1995), Feng Yuanjun 冯沅君 (1900-
1974), Xiao Hong 萧红 (1911-1942), Mei Niang 梅娘 (1920-2013) and Eileen
Chang 张爱玲 (1920-1995), all employed various literary techniques to
present SOC styles, but these works have been largely ignored in this regard.
Importantly, this narrative style is not only a demonstration of the female
experience, but is also a subversion of patriarchal discourse.
The term SOC was taken from the field of psychology, and the definition of this
concept is still in dispute as a literary term. For the sake of interpreting literary
works more appropriately, this study shifts the analytical focus onto the three
literary techniques that frequently appeared in women writers’ fiction.
Through specific textual analysis, this research explores in depth how and why
Republican women writers employed these narrative strategies to present a
stream-of-consciousness style and highlight the personal and collective female
experience, thereby constructing modes of feminist expression to form a
dialogue with patriarchal writing. In addition, this research contributes to a new
paradigm for the study of feminism in Republican women’s literature.