"Memory as method" and the "silent" subjects : a study on Wang Xiaobo's fiction = 「作為方法的記憶」與「沉默」的主體 : 王小波小說研究

Abstract

In the aftermath of “Wang Xiaobo fever”, scholars have dominantly portrayed him as a liberal, placing him in opposition to the “official” and “elite”. This thesis illuminates the complexities of Wang's fiction under the premise of historicizing him.

First, this thesis identifies “memory as method” in Wang’s fiction by analyzing his writings on the Cultural Revolution and his reflection on “memory” in his retelling of Tang chuanqi. In his writings on the Cultural Revolution, Wang deconstructs the preset rational subject with non-linear narratives and emphasizes the body and the “confession materials” (jiaodai cailiao) as the carriers of personal memory. In doing so, he highlights the individual personality against the collective history. In his retelling of Tang chuanqi, Wang bridges the “fracture” caused by memory loss with literary imagination and explores the significance of literature in constructing the individual subject. “Memory” in both writings serves as Wang’s “method” of understanding individuals in collective history, which involves an awareness of the tension between the individual and the collective and reflections on the (re)construction of the subject.

Second, based on the relationship between gender and discourse-power, this thesis supplements the understanding of “memory as method” in Wang’s fiction by studying the transmutation of women’s image and Wang’s concern for male homosexuality. He emphasizes the significance of the sexual “Other” in constructing the individual subjects. By looking into the subaltern and responding to Foucault’s “technologies of the self”, Wang expands the potential of his work in empowering the disadvantaged groups.

Through multi-level textual analysis, this thesis posits “memory” provides a clue for interpreting Wang’s fiction. It also extracts “memory” as a tactic of Wang’s subject construction for the “silent majority” to appraise Wang’s contemporary values.