|
Title |
Finding Aura in the Ruins: An analysis of Wen-Yin Chung's Mother's Illness Trilogy |
|
Author |
Chen, Yun-Ju |
|
PhD student, Department of Chinese, National Taiwan Normal University |
|
|
Abstract |
Wen-Yin Chung is a prolific writer whose works traverse various genres, from prose, short stories, novella to novel. In 2016, Chung's mother suffered a stroke and had become ill ever since. Chung, who used to be a frequent traveler, was forced to return and embarked on a years-long journey as caretaker till her mother passed away in 2023. This paper explores caregiving, illness narrative and religious consciousness in Wen-yin Chung's "Mother's Illness Trilogy". The trilogy includes the collection of essays I Can't Bear not to See You, the novel Farewell, and the memoir Miss Mother Forever, all of which were written during the time the author took care of her sick mother. In the trilogy, Chung ruminates the truth about life and human affections to address her mother's illness by employing different writing strategies. Death is not a topic Chung never touched upon before, but she never scrutinized it with such profound respect. Writing the trilogy serves as an act of therapeutic self-care. The author learned about aging and mortality by exploring such critical issues as long-term care and end of life, especially for middle-aged children with elderly parents nowadays. On the other hand, religious consciousness in the trilogy distinguishes itself from other existing narratives of caregiving, illness and kinship. I argue that the way the author tackles her mother's death resembles the practice of "white skeleton meditation" in Buddhism. In the Buddhist funeral service, the recitation of Infinite Life Sutra (Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra) often invokes a colorful scene with a golden pond in the transition of life, but surprisingly, Chung envisions ruins of suffering and pain. She creates ruins that symbolize the author's dwelling and the mother's sick body. She sees both darkness and aura in the ruins. The trilogy chronicles the unbearable weight of death, the mourning of the dead, and how the author seeks inner peace as days go by. Transcendence and revelation only comes with unconditional love. |
