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Sirens of the Western Shore : The Westernesque Femme Fatale, Translation, and Vernacular Style in Modern Japanese Literature by Indra Levy (2010, Trade Paperback)

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About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherColumbia University Press

ISBN-100231137877

ISBN-139780231137874

eBay Product ID (ePID)102847507

Product Key Features

Number of Pages344 Pages

Publication NameSirens of the Western Shore : The Westernesque Femme Fatale, Translation, and Vernacular Style in Modern Japanese Literature

LanguageEnglish

SubjectAsia / Central Asia, Asian / General, Asian / Japanese

Publication Year2010

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaLiterary Criticism, History

AuthorIndra Levy

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.9 in

Item Weight14.8 Oz

Item Length8.2 in

Item Width5.6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

Reviews" Sirens of the Western Shoretakes a fresh and detailed look at the topic of vernacular style in Meiji literature." -- Sarah Frederick, Journal of Japanese Studies, "Richly textured... cogently argued, lucidly written, and offers the reader insights on both theoretical and biographical levels." -- Nanette Gottlieb, Monumenta Nipponica, Richly textured... cogently argued, lucidly written, and offers the reader insights on both theoretical and biographical levels., " Sirens of the Western Shore takes a fresh and detailed look at the topic of vernacular style in Meiji literature." -- Sarah Frederick, Journal of Japanese Studies, Sirens of the Western Shore takes a fresh and detailed look at the topic of vernacular style in Meiji literature.

Dewey Edition22

Grade FromCollege Graduate Student

Dewey Decimal895.6/093522

Table Of ContentIntroduction Part One Foreign Letters, the Vernacular, and Meiji Schoolgirls 1. Translation as Origin and the Originality of Translation 2. Meiji Schoolgirls in and as Language Part Two Tayama Katai and the Siren of Vernacular Letters 3. Portrait of the Naturalist as a Young Exote 4. Literary Desire and the Exotic Language of Love: From "Shôshijin" to Jokyôshi 5. Haunting the Laboratory of Vernacular Style: The Sirens of "Shôjobyô" and Futon Part Three Staging the New Woman: The Spectacular Embodiment of "Nature" in Translation 6. Setting the Stage for Translation 7. Gender Drag, Culture Drag, and Female Interiority Final Reflections: Gender, Cultural Hierarchy, and Literary Style Notes Bibliography Index

SynopsisIndra Levy introduces a new archetype in the study of modern Japanese literature: the "Westernesque femme fatale," an alluring figure who is ethnically Japanese but evokes the West in her physical appearance, lifestyle, behavior, and, most important, her use of language. She played conspicuous roles in landmark works of modern Japanese fiction and theater. Levy traces the lineage of the Westernesque femme fatale from her first appearance in the vernacularist fiction of the late 1880s to her development in Naturalist fiction of the mid-1900s and, finally, to her spectacular embodiment by the modern Japanese actress in the early 1910s with the advent of Naturalist theater. In all cases the Westernesque femme fatale both attracts and confounds the self-consciously modern male intellectual through a convention-defying use of language. What does this sirenlike figure reveal about the central concerns of modern Japanese literature? Levy proposes that the Westernesque femme fatale be viewed as the hallmark of an intertextual exoticism that prizes the strange beauty of modern Western writing. By illuminating the exoticist impulses that gave rise to this archetype, Levy offers a new understanding of the relationships between vernacular style and translation, original and imitation, and writing and performance within a cross-cultural context. A seamless blend of narrative, performance, translation, and gender studies, this work will have a profound impact on the critical discourse on this formative period of modern Japanese literature., The cross-fertilization of languages, cultures, and literary forms that produced modern Japanese literature also gave birth to a new literary archetype: the "Westernesque femme fatale," an alluring figure who is ethnically Japanese but evokes the West in her physical appearance, lifestyle, behavior, and use of language. Tracing the genesis of this archetype from her first appearance in the vernacularist fiction of the late 1880s to her role in Naturalist fiction of the mid-1900s and her embodiment by the modern Japanese actress in the early 1910s, Sirens of the Western Shore identifies the Westernesque femme fatale as the hallmark of an intertextual exoticism that prizes the strange beauty of modern Western writing. By illuminating the exoticist impulses that informed this archetype, Indra Levy offers a new understanding of the relationships between vernacular style and translation, originality and imitation, and writing and performance.

LC Classification NumberPL726.58.W64L58 2010