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Title |
Masugi Shizue’s Homeland/Outland: “Colonial Taiwan” in “Daughter” and “A Woman’s Life” |
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Author |
Wu, Pei-Chen |
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Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature, National Chengchi University |
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Abstract |
Previous studies on the formation of Masugi Shizue’s image focused mainly on her biographies, which were all published posthumously. However, Masugi’s autobiographical novels were in direct contrast to those biographies, biographical novels and criticisms which stressed that she was a “wicked woman.” Daughter and A Woman’s Life were autobiographical novels that were published from pre-war to post-war periods, and depicted her life experience in colonial Taiwan. Daughter mainly describes her reconciliation with her mother upon her return to her “home” in colonial Taiwan after running away for sixteen years. A Woman’s Life describes a woman named “Shizue”, Masugi’s real name too, as she looks back on her own love affairs, family matters, her “home” in colonial Taiwan, and the defeat of Japan. This novel mixes historical realities with her individual history. These two autobiographical novels also show colonial Taiwan under Japanese rule. This is where her parents’ home was located, and where Masugi spent her teenage years. This paper will examine the relationship between the formation of Masugi’s image and colonial Taiwan, as well as how colonial Taiwan became an icon related to her memory of her mother. |
