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| Yu Dafu and Wang Yingxia Photo credit: http://mclc.osu.edu/ |
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Male Sexuality and the Woman Question response
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| Yu Dafu and Wang Yingxia Photo credit: http://mclc.osu.edu/ |
Of the two stories we read this week, I felt that I had a great deal more to say about one than the other. Although it's not the crux of the story for our purposes, I felt that one of the strongest lines from Lu Xun's "Regret for the Past" was the following: "I thought if I told Tzu-chun the truth, she could go forward boldly without scruple, just as when we first started living together. But I was wrong. She was fearless then because of her love." Perhaps not the core of the story, I still feel this line is worth interrogating. One interpretation may be that the male presence overwhelms the female in this imaginary picture we see our narrator painting for us. 'Of course she was stronger when she was with me, a woman needs a man in order to be the best kind of woman she can be. A woman alone is nothing.' We have looked at this (albeit not in such harsh wording) in previous readings and see it reflected throughout the Confucian principles that litter the texts we examine. Another look at the line might give us pause to wonder about the power of truth and the assumption that a woman being "freed" from a man could help her to go "forward boldly without scruples." Is Tzu-chun just as free with her love as she is without it? Can she be independent without a man?
ReplyDeleteUltimately, looking at just this one line (unfortunately without going too in-depth about the author himself and his contemporary history) I find it hard to take it out of context and come to a conclusion about what it's saying with regard to the female situation in China at the time of its writing. There are other elements of the story that send a particular message more pointed for the purposes of analysis, but I would prefer to linger on this part in particular simply because I think that the sentiment sounds uncomplicated and maybe even a little trite, but in the end, says myriad things about the question of women, male/female relationships, and the view of women with regard to their reliance on men and their respectability in the eyes of society.
With regard to the other reading, I felt like there was a huge wealth of interesting metaphor and nuance in the story and I certainly appreciated its moodiness, but I found it a bit harder to digest and analyze in terms of the questions posed.
I think that compelling sentence is an instance of the narrator being a bit unreliable. As I talk about in my post, in the beginning of the story, he spouts out beliefs about how women should be, but doesn't follow through in action. This line seems to belong to the category of things he says, not things he truly believes. He ignores the existence of a society that shames women who aren't chaste, and only thinks about how it could 'free' himself from the bonds of marriage and the obligations to his wife that he doesn't fulfill. Essentially, it's the narrator holding up an ideal that doesn't match the events that play out around it, in my opinion.
DeleteIn the feudal society, Chinese women occupied a lower level than men. They were hard to change the situation they were suffering. Women live in a man's world should be strong and independent in modern society.
DeleteIn both “Regret for the Past” and “Sinking”, both main characters were both had issues with their identity being a man and citizen in China. The main character in “ Regret for the Past,” had issues with living up to the expectations of being a husband and having a loyal wife. Through his eyes, he was unable to care for his wife and his wife had any decorum in being a housewife. He quotes, “..blind by love- I had negelected all the important things in life. First and foremost, livelihood. A man must make a living before there can be any place for love. After a while of marriage, he recognized that he will not be able to financially care for the household and his wife was not living up to the expectations of being a mistress. He then began to, “ fall out of love,” which made his wife leave him and commit suicide. The main character wanted to live up to decorum of being a Chinese man, but in the end, he lost the woman that loved him and ended with nothing.
ReplyDeleteIn, “ Sinking,” the main character had issues of his sexuality and questioning being a Chinese man. In the beginning and toward the end he states, “ China, O my China! Why don’t you grow rich and strong? I cannot bear your shame in silence any longer.” (page 48) The main characters true self, which was troubled by low self-esteem, hatred, sexual frustration, and self-degradation was correlated to China’s character during that time period. China was trying to evade from the traditional ways. China was contaminated with the old teaching and conservative views and needed new ways of thinking. That is why the main character appreciated nature and reading new forms of literature.
I liked that you made the comparison between the character in the story and the "character" of contemporary China at the time the Yu Dafu story was written. I feel like if I read it again with that in mind, I'd have a much different perspective on the story itself.
DeleteI agree, it seems like that kind of comparison is there, but I have trouble following it as a metaphor. What would the way the character relates to women represent for the political entity of China? What is the woman, what is it's paralyzing fear, what is it's daily regimen of sin? I can't come up with a good answer to those questions, so I have trouble drawing that connection.
DeleteThe person in Sinking longs his country to become stronger. As you wrote, china needed to be changed. China had a long history of feudal society; Chinese people in feudal society were added those personality such as self-abased, hateful and depressed.
DeleteI think the most impactful moment in "Regret for the Past" is when Ahsui returns. "When I looked harder, my heart missed a beat. I jumped up. It was Ahsui. He had come back." followed by an abrupt change in topic. I was horrified to realize that the ambiguous lack of description after his return could be interpreted in one of two ways, either the dog dies of starvation, or the dog is eaten. The reason this was so impactful goes beyond the simple problem of the dog's loyalty, and reaches to the way the narrator treated the female character. He essentially does the same thing to her, if on a metaphysical level. As for "Sinking" it is an expert sketch of the descent into alienation of this student who is terrified of women because his cultural beliefs (christian influenced) decry his attraction for them. His inconstancy in books, "My enthusiasm for the book will be gone the moment I am rethought with it." (49) and the other lines that follow it instantly made me think of how me might treat women. Essentially, he is in love with an ideal, which if it doesn't bear through, disappoints him.
ReplyDeleteIn Lu Xun's story, Male sexuality is naive, with no true thought to the future, caught as it is in ideology about what women should be, and how they should be treated. But as we see, the beliefs spouted by the narrator don't bear out in his own treatment of his wife. His affection for her is not enduring. On the other hand, Yu Dafu's character is paralyzed by his attraction fro women. He is constantly in a state of shame and paranoia, alienated from his fellow students, and incapable of doing anything other than sinning under his coverlet every morning. But he sighs like a poet over the beauty of nature. It's very unclear how the details of "Sinking" can be applied to political situations, but the male sexuality portrayed is that of irresistible, terrified longing. I think the most interesting detail of the two stories is that the most important are conveyed in absentia. The reasons for Tzu-chun's melancholy, what happens to Ahsui, what kind of relations the character of "sinking" actually has with the waitress, all are left to ambiguity, which is part of their power, that they remain lingering in the mind afterward. That may not relate concretely to gender politics, but it causes the reader to consider the subject more.
I agree with everything you said, especially about Yu Dafu's character. I feel that his character definitely must have had some type of anxiety or paranoia disorder for him to feel so negatively towards just about every single that that would happen. While it is unclear where this anxiety is rooted it could possibly be due to his need to see China progress, but seeing no such thing really happen. Impatience, essentially. Things like national change and finding love do not happen over night and it seemed he failed to embrace this concept.
DeleteI like your description of Ahsui returning and the impact on him. The comparison between how he treated Ahsui and the female character was something I did not think about but after reading your response it seems very true. It does seem that he is in love with the ideal of having a woman and a dog and the "traditional" family, but he can't come to grips to accept her as her. He can only complain about what is happening. I also agree with your interpretation of Yu Dafu and his interaction with women. Maybe this is why he isolates himself from the outside world as his interaction with women seem to haunt him.
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DeleteI like how you describe male sexuality in Lu Xun's piece, as naive. I think this word strikes me as interesting because it contrasts starkly with the male sexuality of Yu Dafu. As you say, Lu Xun's character "has no true thought to the future" whereas Yu Dafu's character is obsessed with past actions and embarrassments (both real and imagined).
DeleteI never thought the dog will be eaten, but I cannot disagree either, because in the story the main character does not say that he took the dog home as a pet. It would be a shame if the dog ended up like his wife.
DeleteI really liked how you compared the way he treated the dog to how he treated Tzu-chun. It seems that in a way he did leave her starving for emotion and love whereas he left the dog physically starving. I also agree that Lu Xun's story is focused more an naïve idea of love rather than a realistic one. The boy in the story has alienated himself to the point where any kind of love can be deemed as fictitious.
DeleteI found the significance of the dog, Ahsui, coming back at the end of the story to be cut short and not fully explained. Since it is strategically placed the significance must be very important. From my perspective I agree with you that the dogs loyalty represents Tzu-chun's relationship to Chuan Sheng.
DeleteThe return of Ahsui seemed like a smack in the face for the main character. Would he not see it as that and take the dog to care for it? I kind of hoped that he did, to restore his honor to Tzu-chun.
DeleteUpon reading the collection of short stories (Lu Xun) and Sinking (Yu Dafu), I enjoyed both of them, and they were written well. Lu Xun used his way to express his frustration and criticism of Chinese society. My favorite short story within this collection is “A Madman's Diary.” The reason I like this story so much is its fantastic symbolism. It's told from the mad man's story and condemns the oppressive nature of Chinese Confucian culture as a "man-eating" society where the strong group people devour the weak group. The short story Sinking follows the story of a young man pursuing a college education in Japan. In Japan he constantly feels uncomfortable being Chinese. “When he was in school he always had the feeling that everyone was staring at him.” (Sinking, Pg47) The story frequently has long monologues highlighting the young man's aloneness. “He began to pity himself, as if a thousand sorrows and grievances finding no immediate expression were weighing upon his heart.” (Sinking, Pg45)
ReplyDeleteLu Xun used his sardonic, humorous, and powerful pen to depict the force of the dark society. Lu Xun's work reveals his interest in changing society under the heel of feudalism. The storied "Regret for the Past," "Kong Yiji," and "My Old Home" are excellent examples of s the isolation of the intellectual class and its conflict between both the ruling and common classes. After reading the collection of short stories, I felt that Lu Xun divides the Chinese people into two distinct groups. The first divisions are those people who hate the most. They are the blinded, beastlike Chinese people who ignore change in society and reject to change. The second group is the revolutionaries, which he shows are foolish and dying for a lost cause. “Regret for the Past” represents Lu Xun's view of women that described Chinese tradition and compare this with modern sexual freedom. The person in Sinking longs China to become stronger especially after getting those humiliated words from a Japanese waitress. “For Japanese look down upon Chinese just as we look down upon pigs and dogs”. “Oh China, my China, why don't you grow strong!” “I will love nothing but my country, and let my country be my love.”(Sinking Pg65) The feeling that he was grievances and helpless .Yu Dafu shows the traumatized national awareness or identity; one individual's happiness or misery is always wrapped up in the fate of his nation: “China, my china, you are the cause of death! I wish you could become rich and strong! Many, many of your children are still suffering! ”（Sinking Pg69）
This reply did a better job of exploring the nationalistic viewpoint, instead of just the sexual/feminist viewpoint as I did. The man in Sinking may have had a more helpless feeling due to his need for the country to progress but not seeing it do so, and this may have spurred his anxiety issues namely with women but perhaps with the general population as well.
DeleteI think the man is sinking also because the loneliness that came to him when he studies in Japan by himself
DeleteThe very first and foremost thing that struck me about both of these pieces in unison was how the main men seemed quite... pathetic, for lack of better term. They both express the simply unearthly fact that women were essentially nothing more than valuable objects in that time (sometimes still today, too). If she isn't good enough, or pretty enough, she's thrown off to the side like a piece of garbage. Chuan-Sheng(?) in the first piece essentially resembles a spoiled bratty child who gets a toy for Christmas, but it's not good enough or expensive enough, so he throws it aside. This man claims to have loved this woman but so simply and seemingly effortlessly falls out of love, and what's more, wished her dead. I don't know what to think of her leaving but I think its possible that she committed suicide. A sudden, unexplained death leaves much suspicion; I also found it funny how casually the gatekeeper delivered the message, "Who knows? At any rate, she's dead."
ReplyDeleteAs for the second piece, while interesting to read I became very thoroughly frustrated with his "woe is me" attitude throughout the entire story. It's more than evident that he must have some type of anxiety disorder (general or social?). And the "ordinarily a very self-respecting and clean person" (p55) through me off because how self respecting can you be if you sit and cause yourself such thorough anxiety and misery on a nearly constant basis? This piece also flows into the concept of women being aesthetic objects since he is obviously incapable of treating women as human beings and instead becomes this mute, anxious, ridiculous being in their presence. I have little sympathy for his struggles throughout the piece since he showed desire to change and be brave and find this woman of his dreams whom he wanted so badly -- and yet, instead of making that effort, he just continued his ways and continued to complain nonstop; "I may as well end my life here, since I'll probably never get the kind of love I want." (p68)
Overall these pieces definitely complemented eachother. In the end, it shows the objectification of women and shows how men in a misogynistic mindset really are significantly weaker and far less level headed than women. In current day, gender equality can be achieved, but back in that time period I believe it was rare if not impossible with a wide spread view that men are these superior, practically super human beings and women are these little cute things that should serve.
I agree with your view of the men being pathetic. I like your mention about the second piece where Yu-Dafu was incapable of treating women as human beings and becomes mute when he comes in contact with him. The way he treated the woman at the house was rude and not how most men would be. I agree that it shows the "objectification of women" and that men think they are superior to women but face some of the same internal issues.
Delete"As for the second piece, while interesting to read I became very thoroughly frustrated with his "woe is me" attitude throughout the entire story." I agree with this statement insomuch as I feel like the impression I got from the story ran counter to using this self-pitying character to deliver the message. If the message is about empowering the character of China by changing its attitude toward women, why then is the narrative voice so wishy-washy? Or is it just the opposite? I suppose in the end, I was more confused by the message of the second story, whereas I felt the first was more straightforward and better suited to that due to the message it was trying to send. Not terribly fond of Yu Dafu's narrator in this instance.
DeleteThe two readings this week were quite interesting as they were written from the prospective of a man. The view from the man was different from what we have read in the past, but the men were not expressed as I thought they would be. Lu-Xun and Yu Dafu both seem opposite of what a man should be. In "Regrets for the Past" Lu-Xun has a role almost opposite of Tzu-Chen. Tzu-Chen is non-traditional in the beginning as she says, "I am my own mistress. None of them has any right to interfere with me." This becomes contradictory to Lu-Xun as he almost wants someone to feel bad for him. She worked so hard cooking, cleaning and taking care of everything at home and all he could do was complain about it. He felt he couldn't move on after she left and mentioned twice, "I must have a fresh start." It almost seems pathetic, as for a man he should be strong and efficient to support the family, but he was not capable. All he could think about was the bad parts and not the happy times.
ReplyDeleteIn "Sinking" Yu Dafu is pitiful in what he is doing with his life. He was given many opportunities to attend school and receive a great degree in Medicine, but he isolated himself so much. He explains, "I want neither knowledge nor fame. All I want is a 'heart' that can understand and comfort me... What I want is love" (pg. 49). This is something that most women want, but he seems to be so wrapped up in it. Instead of putting himself out there, he has removed himself from society. He doesn't go to school and if he does, he doesn't speak to anyone even if there are from China like him. Staying in his room to read and sleeping in until four was part of his schedule. He eventually moved up the hill to a more secluded area which pushed him even further. In the end he blames his issues on his homeland of China. He is pathetic in the sense that he has to talk himself in being better by bringing others down especially his brother who pushed him to go to medical school. In the end I don't feel sorry for either of these two men as it seems they had it all right in the beginning, a beautiful women and promising future in a career of medicine. These two writings make you questions the validity of man's strength against women as it seen that the men are the stronger ones. But the women in these stories seem to be the ones who know who they are and can hold themselves together unlike the men. These two readings were very compelling in questioning the role of genders.
Yea, I think both Lu Xun and Yu Dafu proved these compelling points, that men are not the whole of society and that women must be a fair part of it to function its best.
DeleteI agree that both men in these two separate stories are rather pathetic. They both in their own way threw away what appeared to be a bright future and what they wanted all along. This leads to your point of questioning "man's strength against women." The one thing that can be pulled from both is that woman have more strength and can endure more than the men.
DeleteAlso the the main character in "Sinking" seemed to have a rather hateful distaste for his Japanese classmates. I think that is also a factor to be looked upon for his isolation that you pointed out. Being in a country that oneself might hate doesn't help motivate a person to emerge themselves into society.
DeleteThere seems to a reversal of the "traditional" gender roles whereas the women as strong and are protecting their households and the men are weak and consumed with their own well being.
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DeleteJuan Sheng is right that “First and foremost, livelihood; A man must make a living before there can be any place for love.” Since he knows that love should have economic and living foundation, he should understood more about Zi Jun. She had to work hard for cooking, cleaning and taking care of everything at home, and so he could not complain about her.
DeleteI like your comparison with Dafu's characters emotional state being similar to the typical female stereotype, I also thought that while reading. Also, the male characters coming off in a pathetic state was something that made me think. I did, while reading, characterized his behavior as more 'female-like', but who am I to say what is female and what is male other than my own previous life experiences. I think that our interpretation of the male characters in both stories to be that of switched genders says a lot about our own society and how we were raised. Unfortunately, we have the stereotypes but it is a step forward that we are able to acknowledge the differences so that we can maybe one day stop with the generalization of certain emotions.
DeleteIn these two readings, I find the interaction of feminism and society to be very interesting. Take these two quotes, the first from Lu Xun and the second from Yu Dafu:
ReplyDelete“I had hidden very little, and she understood me completely. These few words of hers stirred me to the bottom of my heart, and rang in my ears for many days after. I was unspeakably happy to know that Chinese women were not as hopeless as the pessimists made out, and that we should see them in the not too distant future in all their glory.”
“O China, my China, you are the cause of the death! … I wish you could become rich and strong soon! … Many, many of your children are still suffering” (Yu Dafu, 69).
These two quotes, while not quire referring to the same object, completely contrast one another. In the first quote, the author remains hopeful of the future because women are demanding that they are “their own mistresses”. But, the second quote sounds bleak and depressed. However, both of these quotes are not completely honest and reflect a limited point of view.
Despite the first quote’s optimism, the actor’s actions later on in the story clearly demonstrate that he does not believe what he has just said. When times are good and their love is strong, the character has firm confidence in the future of women, but he ends up confining the woman he claims to be proud of to the traditional role that he had previously decried. Despite the second quote’s pessimism, most of the “suffering” that he claims to have experienced is imagined. If anything, his own negativity and objectification of women has created the weakness he perceives in China when in fact, the weakness is in him. In summary, both of these characters have taken perceived weaknesses and externalized them onto Chinese society or women when the problem is with the characters- the men- themselves. It reminds me of Lu Xun’s “The Chastity of Women” when he points out that China’s faults have traditionally been pushed onto the women of China.
You make a good point that these two men still seem to objectify women in such a way that continues to marginalize them and minimize the fault of themselves.
DeleteThe Regret for the Past is a short love story which written in review events from Juan Sheng’s emotion. I think this short love story is different from many other love stories at that time, many love stories focus on the process of fighting for free love, but this story is the result of fighting for free love. The result of Juan Sheng and Zi Jun’s free love failed, and I think there are many reasons for it, which includes the social reasons and their own reasons. After they lived together without marriage, Juan Sheng felt that “On the road I was conscious of searching looks, sarcastic smiles or lewd and contemptuous glances which tended, if I was not careful, to make me shiver”, not only for this, they were hard to find a place to live, Juan Sheng was discharged because of the rumour and their relatives distanced them. For their own reason, they just lived together for blind love and ignore other points in their life. When they faced difficulties in life and lacked of economic foundations, many problems came out. “First and foremost, livelihood; A man must make a living before there can be any place for love.” (Lu Xun) I think this is the important point for them and it is also important for love. After I read this sentence, I was suddenly enlightened and I think this is important for us to know about love and life.
ReplyDeleteYu Dafu’s “Sinking” described a young Chinese man who studied in Japan and faced many problems. The biggest problem for “him” is his intense internal debates and anguish. “I mustn’t gulp down such a marvelous book at one sitting. Instead, I should chew it over a period of time. For my enthusiasm for the book will be gone the moment I am through with it. So will my expectation and dreams, and won’t that be a crime?”(p.46, Yu Dafu) This part not only showed us that he is an entangled heart person but also showed up his loneliness. Even he was in the midst of all his classmates, he always felt lonely and kind of solitude. He though his classmates ignored him and even sometimes laughed at him, then his loneliness changed into resentment. “O China, my China, you are the cause of my death! … I wish you could become rich and strong soon! … Many, many of your children are still suffering.” (p. 69, Yu Dafu) His loneliness, resentment of his classmates, failure of chasing the girl and great expectations of his motherland contributed to his anguish. The most interesting part for me is the first time he met two girl students on page 48, he even not talked to them directly, but he had a series of psychology activity.
I agree that this story is the result of free love, which makes it a tragedy rather than a love story. During this period China was moving from a traditional way of thinking toward a more democratic thinking. The result of their relationship is a parallelism between the new way of thinking trying to survive in the traditional China.
ReplyDeleteMost striking is the sharp difference between Lu Xun/Yu Dafu's images and descriptions of women and sexuality, as opposed to the way these are portrayed in Cixi's time and for Qiu Jin. In "Regret for the Past" the male figure views the female as an escape from "dead quiet and emptiness". He views Tzu-Chun as a companion rather than a treaty or transaction between families; and even beyond that, the two of them have trod directly against the grain, defying both father and uncle of the woman. She says "I'm my own mistress" and is uncomfortable with being of financial insignificance to the household. It is interesting that in the midst of their modernity, the main character was still pushed back into studies, away from spending time in the home with Tzu-Chun. Even so, his discontent with her and their home life did not prompt him to seek out mistresses or gambling. there was, rather, a sense of respect for which he upheld and attempted to cultivate. He said "I wanted to speak to her plainly, but hadn't the courage. Whenever I made up my mind to speak, the sight of those childlike eyes compelled me, for the time being, to smile. But my smile turned straightway into a sneer at myself, and made me lose my cold composure.” He did not feel entirely free to push aside his female partner as may have happened in a traditional family.
ReplyDeleteYu Dafu's "Sinking" provides a clear and severe reproach for the state of China at the time. Repeated at the beginning and end of the story is sorrow for China, the emotional pain and physical defeat it causes its citizens; "China, O my China! Why don’t you grow rich and strong? I cannot bear your shame in silence any longer!’” (pg 48). Through Christian imagery and a rapidly succeeding lust and self-pity, relates to reader the shameful state China had become. A lack of effective schools drove young people to Japan where it was easy to be ridiculed for 'race' and poverty. This character attempted to study and return to China to better it, but was distracted by lust blaming his timidity and inability to make something of himself on his country's poverty. "many, many of your children are still suffering," (pg 69).
I really liked your comments about "Regret for the Past". Lu Xun's character attempts to embrace the modern concepts of love and a mutual relationship, but in the end he fails to uphold it. In many ways, we can blame him for reverting to traditional Chinese behaviors towards women, but I think we should also hold some pity for him. His words tell us that he wanted to modernize, but his own struggles prevented him from doing so. Just as Tzu-Chun suffered in the relationship, so did the male character, and your comments do a good jobof pointing that out. Also, just as the male character failed to follow through with his modern ideas, so did Tzu-Chun. Despite her claims that she was "her own mistress", in the end she succumbed to societal pressures and committed suicide.
DeleteI completely agree with the way you went to perceive the story of "Sinking". I also believe that lust and timidness all distracted the main character from trying to better China.
DeleteI agree with your perspective of the character of "Sinking". I also believe this was parallel to the turmoil that China was facing at this point.
DeleteI agree with you that at the beginning and end of the story is sorrow for China, the emotional pain and physical defeat it causes its citizens. The great expectation for China also contributed to his anguish. At the end of the story, he said “O China, my China, you are the cause of my death! … I wish you could become rich and strong soon! … Many, many of your children are still suffering.” I think this is the author's real voice and true emotion in this story.
DeleteI like your wording with how you called Tzu-Chun a companion. I don't agree with what you said about him having a sense of respect for her. He does have some respect but that is all wiped away with his doubt and secluded himself from his bride. The biggest flaw in their relationship is the doubt that he places in it.
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ReplyDeleteI found both readings to be similar in the fact that they both were very remorseful. They are also both about male main characters with female interactions which I found interesting. In "Regret for the Past" LuXun does a great job in expressing the feelings of the two characters in his story. Interestingly enough being from a male author, the sense of regret and remorse comes more from the male rather than from the female. The male expresses these feelings in this quote very well: "I wish we really had ghosts and there really were a hell. Then, no matter how the wind of hell roared, I would go to find Tzu-chun, tell her of my remorse and grief, and beg her forgiveness. Otherwise, the poisonous flames of hell would surround me, and fiercely devour my remorse and grief" (LuXun, Towards the end).
ReplyDelete"The Sinking" was a very interesting read and somewhat disturbing. I found the story to be compelling, because the main character went through so many seasons in his life, many of which we go through as college students. Fitting in, being in a strange place and trying to belong while struggling with love were all highlights of this boys story. Like "Regret for the Past," his remorse and regret for his sin in his life were very apparent and took up most of the pages of this story. "He had nothing to do but to blame others and reproach himself" (Yu Dafu, 61). This is his feelings throughout the story and this quote pretty much sums it up. Overall the most striking features of these stories were the overpowering feelings and emotions throughout and also the remorse the male characters felt in the stories weren't what I would have expected coming from male authors.
I like that you related the story "Sinking" to our lives as college students. I usually get distracted by the fact of when these stories were written and have a difficult time relating them to modern day society. Although values and equality between men and women were very different in the 1920s when these stories were written relating them to modern life really helps put them in perspective.
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ReplyDeleteIn Lu Xun’s short story “Regret for the Past” the underlying theme seems to be regret for the way he treated Tzu-chun and what he made of himself during his lifetime. Chuan Sheng was eager to breaking away from traditional values. He talked about “breaking with tradition, and the equality of men and women,” and accused Tzu-chun of being uncapable to “free(d) herself entirely from old ideas.” Lu Xun’s use of Chuan Sheng as the narrator of the story gives the reader only one prospective of this tragic love story. Unfortunately Tzu-chun is spoken for by the narrator throughout the story of her place in the relationship as solely a housewife. After learning about Lu Xun’s background I think that the inspiration for this story came from his animosity toward his own forced arranged marriage. In the story Chuan Sheng regrets putting the heavy burden of truth on Tzu-chun, which eventually lead to her death, even when he broke with tradition and found his own wife. I think this story shows a very strong male character and a very passive female character.
ReplyDeleteThis is in sharp contrast to Yu Dafu’s short story “Sinking.” In this story the main male character exhibits qualities that are normally associated with female characteristics. The male is very passive outwardly toward others and often refers to himself as a coward. The main male character also cries frequently in self pity. The narrator of the story uses very descriptive imagery relaying nature to the reader throughout the story, which I view as a female quality. For example, “The crescent moon, looked like the untinted eyebrow of a celestial maiden” (p. 52). Also, “the silhouette of a mountain floating hazily in translucent air” (p. 63). I think the title “Sinking” sums up the feeling of the main character toward his native country of China. While in China the schools never seemed to meet his expectations and he often shows anger and jealousy toward Americans and Japanese. He calls the American missionaries, “muddle-headed” (p. 50) and says that he will seek revenge toward the way the Japanese treated him. The reappearing phrase, “China, O China why don’t you grow rich and strong” (p. 48) really sums up the male’s feelings toward his home country; however, despite his unhappiness he never attempts to move back to China.
I also believe that they underlying theme of "Regret for the Past"'s underlying theme is regretting the way he treated his wife. Towards the end he says “I want to forget. For my own sake I don't want to remember the oblivion I gave Tzu-Chun for her burial” which shows he regrets the way he treated her.
DeleteIn the two short pieces I read, “Regrets of the Past” by Lu Xun and “Sinking” by Yu Dafu, they are both about the male view of their own identity. In “Regrets of the Past”, Lu Xun expressed the main character as a person who could not hold onto his wife and be a husband. His wife did everything for him and all he did was complain about it. He believed that a man should make money before he could fall in love with someone. When he was not financially stable and didn’t believe that his wife was exceeding the expectations of what a wife was suppose to be, his wife left him and eventually died. The second to last sentence “I want to forget. For my own sake I don't want to remember the oblivion I gave Tzu-Chun for her burial” to me seems like he now knows that he was the reason for why Tzu-Chun died. He failed to support her and be a husband. He mentioned that he wants to forget the past but he cannot forget it.
ReplyDeleteIn the “Sinking” by Yu Dafu, the main character has many problems that he faces with himself. He had a hard time with his sexuality, low self-esteem and a hard time with him being a Chinese man. He went to Japan to study abroad and found it hard to be a Chinese man. “Wherever his Japanese schoolmates laughed and joked in his presence, his face would redden because he thought the laughter and jokes were at his expense” (p.47). This shows that he thought everyone was judging him. “his thoughts were still with the waitress—the fragrance emanating from her mouth, hair, face and body” (pg.64). This shows his sexual frustration because he always thought about this waitress but would always try to avoid her.
I agree with all your thoughts here, I think that this remorse aspect is very interesting being portrayed by the men in these stories. The fact that these are written by men too, makes it even more interesting because it could be the authors telling their true feelings about their own lives that may have been secretive. Also, the unhappiness in the end is on the same level of interest being written by male authors
DeleteIn “Regret for the Past”, authored by Lu Hsun, we see the female through a male’s narration. This is in stark contrast from the previous readings where we often learned about women in the late Qing Dynasty through another woman’s perspective. On the surface, the story is one of love. Two people fall in love and decide to move in together, something that was considered a taboo at the time. Through the premise of the story, the reader would think that Lu Hsun has disdain for going against tradition. The young lovers are breaking tradition by moving in together without the vows of marriage. But then the simple name of the story and the use of words such as “regret” and “remorse” towards the end could cast light on Lu Hsun’s real views on tradition. Through his writing, he seems as if he is more a realist than a liberal. I feel as if he understands that change is important but that there is also pain during progress. Furthermore, the traditional roles between the two sexes in Lu Hsun’s story are almost reversed. Tzu-Chen seems to be working hard doing everything: cleaning, cooking and taking care of Lu-Xun. Yet, it seems that all he can do is complain. There are many times when Lu-Xun wants to break away from his relationship with Tzu-Chen. This symbolizes that no matter how much they wanted to break away from society, the pressure finally caught up to them.
ReplyDeleteIn “Sinking”, authored by Yu Dafu, is the story of a young Chinese man. It seems that the main character is struggling with identity crisis. The young man also has to cope with a low self-esteem and loneliness. The quote, "China, O my China! Why don’t you grow rich and strong? I cannot bear your shame in silence any longer!” (pg. 48) seems to exemplify the internal struggle he is going through. The main character and the country of China are similar in the way that they both want to let new ideas in and yet retain old traditions. This is causing the young man mental anguish while the country of China is facing turmoil. However, the young man in this story and Lu Xun and similar in a way. The main character is presented with many opportunities to attend school, yet he rejects them and keeps suffering in his loneliness. Meanwhile, Lu-Xun has the chance to be with someone he loves, something that many people at the time were not able to do, and he wastes it away. Both of these readings question traditional gender roles and in a way question the tradition and Qing Dynasty rule as well.
I think the most strongest sentence in Luxun's article is "I'm my own mistress. None of them has any right to interfere with me." because seldom girls would say that during that time.
DeleteIn “Regret for the Past,” I saw two people that fell into a love like in Romeo and Juliet where it was somewhat forbidden or looked down upon. They weren’t able to be apart in the beginning but with the difficult circumstances they faced throughout, they began to grow distant from one another. But I believe that under more positive circumstances, they would have worked through disagreements, if they had any, and made it through as a couple. However that just wasn’t the case. An intriguing quote from this story” was: “Although she wanted to bear the burden of emptiness amid sternness and cold glances till the end of her days, it had been too much for her. Fate had decided that she should die knowing the truth I had told her—die unloved (14)!” I found it interesting that even though he feels regret for telling her what he did, he still claims it as the truth. In this situation, after Tzu-chun’s death, I would have thought that he would want to take back what he said and claim that he had always loved her. Since we aren’t really positive whether her death was a suicide or murder, it’s hard for Chuan-sheng to not blame himself to some extent. It was interesting how he claimed in that first sentence of that quote that she did want to live a life of emptiness. Since she did prove to be a strong woman throughout the story, dealing with his emotions and actions, as a reader it is hard to accept that she committed suicide due to what Chuan-sheng said. Personally, I think that if it was actually a suicide, then it was due to the fact that she was taken away from the one she had initially fallen in love with. Also in my opinion he wouldn’t feel regret unless he still had some sort of love left for Tzu-chun. A love going against everyone and everything that was viewed as correct isn’t a love that just fades like that.
ReplyDeleteThen as I read “Sinking,” I saw a much more immature view of love. Throughout the story, the young boy in the story didn’t seem to fully understand the meaning of love. Instead I think he pushed away any hope of love through his actions and thoughts. However, I think that it was more of his thoughts that truly drove people away. A part of me believed as I read this piece that the boy being portrayed had some sort of social anxiety, paranoia, or some other sort of mental disorder. His thoughts that were depicted made him seem a bit crazy. One example of this would be whenever he is in school around his classmates and he has the thought, “They are all Japanese, all my enemies. I’ll have my revenge one day; I’ll get even with them (47).” This is the type of mentality of a killer in some ways. He is having these random thoughts of getting even with people who really have directly done him not wrong. But instead it is really just him that believes they are all laughing at his expense, even though that isn’t necessarily true. Throughout this whole story he seems to be the one pushing away people due to possible social anxiety. I believe this because he got very nervous whenever people would speak to him except when he got drunk in which he was able to talk to the waitress. For a boy who thinks he wants love so much and that everyone else is the reason he can’t find it; he is the one hindering himself. I think he is naïve and has some growing up to do before he can have true love. He is stuck in the stages of seeing love in the amateur stages.
As I reflected on the two readings, “Regret for the Past” and “Sinking,” I felt that both provided a very interesting take on love from the Chinese male perspective. The story told by Lu Hsun seemed to be a more mature love whereas Yu Dafu told a story of just the opposite. However there were glimpses of both types of love in each story to some extent. Chuan-sheng was childish or immature for not fighting for the one he had claimed to love strongly. He took the easier route out in my mind which caused him to regret. Whereas in “Sinking,” the young boy had an idea of love and knew he wanted it someday. However it was his naïve and rather violent thoughts that kept him from discovering the love he desired.
ReplyDeleteOften times when we think of Chinese culture we think about the stereotypical oppression of it’s women, which of course has much truth ringing through it. What we don’t think about is how Chinese men are dealt with by their society members. It was interesting to me in “Regret for the Past” that we have this headstrong female that this ‘typical’ Chinese man is severely attracted to. Enough so that he sees her against her family’s wishes. Shortly after being with her, the man is worried that he is no longer satisfied with his bride. That maybe this decision was made to hastily and that he actually doesn’t love her. In both short readings the men are mentioned to lack patience. Also, both selections associate the patience with books. “With books over a few hundred pages, it was only natural that he seldom had the patience to finish them (Dafu 46). In Dafu’s selection it seems the man is just lacking interest ing the reading. “Out of sheer boredom I would pick up a book—science or literature, it was all the same to me—and read on and on, till I realized I had turned a dozen pages without taking in a word I had read. (Xun). When reading Xun’s character, it appears that he is not focused in what he is reading. Reading, books, and literature seemed to be a key theme that was popping out at me. In Chinese culture, education of the males in the classics was a very important and held to high esteem. In both characters having trouble in this area , I believe it shows a symbolizing to the lack of masculinity corresponding with not having a strong importance in literature.
ReplyDeleteAnother key theme that popped out at me was the emotional status of each character and the loudness of their voice that is shown to the reader. Emotion was not something that was supposed to be shown, and if it was it appears as a weakness. In Dafu’s writing we see that when his character says, “He turned around and immediately assumed a melancholy expression, as if afraid to show his smile before strangers (46). “ In the traditionalist setting, the women are meant to be silent and dutiful and kept to themselves while the men busied themselves with the affairs of others outside their homes. It was interesting to me that in both stories; the men characters not valued but sought their alone time. “His lonliness become more intolerable after he had cut himself off from social contacts (Dafu 57).” It seems uncharacteristic of them to seclude themselves, as women often were forced to. Their loud thoughts made me question myself, if these men were so unhappy, why did they physically do nothing to change it themselves? “As I sat there alone thinking over the past, I felt that during the last half year for love—blind love—I had neglected all the important things in life. First and foremost, livelihood (Xun).” Like I’ve said previously, I’m not familiar with Chinese customs and I assume that these characteristics of the men to keep to themselves were just the way they were raised with no other precedent to do otherwise, but the thought still baffles me. The gender stereotypes of communication just seem to flood over me when I read about this foreign culture. I do believe that it was such thoughts and role reversal as these that helped the feminist movement move along because of the support of men.
These two short stories show the lives of two different men who seem to be searching for something. For the character in “Regret for the Past” he put himself into his work and for the character in “Sinking” he is lost in his “sin every morning underneath his quilt” (Sinking, pg 55). They not only lost themselves in a sense, more so for the character in “Sinking”, to what they saw as important but in reality they lost something which should have been considered important in their lives. For the main character in “Regret for the Past” he lost his wife Tzu-chun because he lost his love for her. In a way, a man should lead in a relationship but he did not. He allowed himself to engulf all his efforts into his work paying no attention to his wife. The fault is not only in the man but also Tzu-Chun. Before their marriage she was bold about who was she was in her womanhood ("I'm my own mistress. None of them has any right to interfere with me." (“Regret for the Past”)), but after they were married she began to put her identity into other things, such as her work around the house. Their love died. In “Sinking” he has a certain image of love which is not love at all but lust for the body that a woman possesses (“Those snow-white breasts! Those voluptuous thighs! And that curvaceous figure!” (“Sinking”, page 57)).
ReplyDeleteBoth stories seem to embody the image that a man during this time sought after an education who was to be literate but a woman was only something to be looked upon. In “Sinking”, the male character’s idea of what a woman is and what he thought love was ultimately led to him to further despise himself. If he hadn’t been so shy as he continually told himself what would he have done? Near the end of the short story Ya Dafu writes “O China, my China! Why don’t you grow strong?” (“Sinking”, page 65) this sentence was connected to the scene after the main character realizes he can’t approach the waitress. Is there supposed to be a connection to China being a weak country at the time to the main character not being able to “be a man” in a sense to flirt with these women?
I think you make a really interesting point being that the characters are all searching for something. My question would be did they ever find what they were looking for, and was it satisfactory for them. I really dont think they found it, and if they got close they messed it up for themselves by being selfish. I also agree with your point that the men lost themselves throughout their lives, and I think that this is also an important aspect.
DeleteI always love reading Luxun's articles since high school, and some of his work was chosen to be in the text book in China, I did not really into his work at that time, because I think there was no fun reading his articles, because the words and sentences are so simple and weak, but as I grow older, I think I was wrong, because even the words and sentences are simple, but the emotion in between the words and sentences is very strong. I would say, his work is magic,because when you read his articles, the words and the sentence calms you down, but when you finished reading it, you will find that you have actually learnt a lot about life, I also want to point out that the feeling is even stronger when I read the Chinese version.
ReplyDeleteIn "Regrets of the Past", the sentence that attracts me the most is "I'm my own mistress. None of them has any right to interfere with me." because at that time,there are a lot of arraged marriges still, girls did not get to choose who do they want to get married with. And Tzu-Chun had her own decision, and she insisted it. Also, in the article, Luxun mentions that they have been living together before they got married, it was also a hard decision for a girl to make during that time period, because living together before marriage was not acceptable.
And when Luxun heard TzuChun's death, he got confused and regret, because he thought that he was the reason of Tzu-Chun's death, adn he regreted to not hold her tight when they are together.
In Sinking, Yu Dafu decribes a life of a young man studying abroad in Japan, he falls in love with a Japanese girl but he is afraid to express his feeling for her, then the stress from his life and the passion for the girl makes him sinking. It is a great article,"when he attended classes, even though he was the midst of all his classmates, he felt lonely"(p47), I am sure that a lot of international students feel the same way. Yu Dafu expresses a young man's heart really clear, I enjoyed reading the story, even the story is not happy
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