Abstract
Focusing on the concept of "body", the article expounds on a woman's growth wounds, the mother-daughter relationship, and the perspective of sex and love of leading character Jiuli the in Novel Small Reunion, to analyze Chang Ai-ling's perception and writing of the female body. In addition to the preface, section two "Writing on Growth Illness and Disease" discusses how Jiuli's reserved and desolate character develops amidst a patriarchal family. Section three "An Omnipresence Gaze" describes Jiuli's love, fear and resentment of her mother, as well as the distress and shame associated with physical contact and perception between mother and daughter. Section four "The Threat and Frustration of Sex" analyzes the sexual experience of the female. Section five "The Single-minded Desire for Love" analyzes Jiuli's pursuit for love and her occurring injuries after sexual encounters. The article emphasizes two points: first, the mother in Small Reunion, Ruiqiu (mother of Jiuli) is even more ubiquitous compared to Shao Zhiyong; second, due to the discipline of her mother and the constraint of Chinese society, Jiuli's attitude toward sex is not completely liberal or joyful, but is actually desolate and dreadful. The article concludes with the theme of Small Reunion as the perpetual waiting of romantic love and family affection of Jiuli, who is ultimately isolated from body, sex and love.
Translated title of the contribution | Isolation of Body, Sex and Love: Discussion of Jiuli in Small Reunion |
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Original language | Chinese (Traditional) |
Pages (from-to) | 187-224 |
Number of pages | 38 |
Journal | 成大中文學報 |
Issue number | 37 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Keywords
- Chang Ai-ling
- Small Reunion
- body
- illness
- sex and love