一葉作品中女性意識的變化

Abstract

本論文旨在探討日本第一位女性職業作家樋口一葉，其作品當中女性意識的變化。透過分析一葉不同時期作品當中的人物，特別是女性角色，試圖證明樋口一葉並非留有前近代：日本江戶時代遺風的作家，其作品中或已存在具有近代性、獨立思考行為的女性。 第一章為前言，簡單介紹樋口一葉之生平、本論文之問題意識、研究方法與目標、以及相關研究史與現狀。第二章起至第八章，筆者選定樋口一葉的七篇小說，以出版時間順排列，依序分析作品人物。第一篇作品是一葉的處女作「闇櫻」。第二到第六篇小說則是由一葉的創作高峰期「奇蹟的十四個月」當中精選而出，其中包含樋口一葉膾炙人口的代表作「比高」，以及多次改編成電影與舞台劇的小說「十三夜」和「除夕」等等。第七篇小說「破殼」則是一葉生前最後問世的小說。本論文雖然以一葉作品當中「女性意識」為主題，但也將作中男性人物的行為列入分析的對象，以求客觀並能凸顯女性角色所面對的困難，使其意識變化的軌跡更為明確。因此各章在進行論述時大致分為「男性觀點」與「女性觀點」兩部分，並非僅僅聚焦於女性角色上。同時本論文也分析各作品中的女性角色，是否能突破傳統「家」的束縛，來證明其獨立自主意識的有無。 分析樋口一葉的七部作品之後，本論文的結論是：若將是否具有獨立思考與行為能力作為近代女性的標準，很遺憾一葉作品當中並不具有這樣的女性角色。然而，從第一篇作品的女主角：一位耽溺於戀愛幻想的少女出發，一葉創作高峰期作品中的女性開始發現傳統父權社會對自身的壓迫，並從妥協逐漸轉向逃離與對抗。「破殼」當中逃離家庭的女主角，雖然難以判定其動機是出於自我覺醒或僅為慾望，但已顯露一絲曙光。終章當中還簡單討論一葉未完成小說「裏紫」，其女主角更具獨立自主的態勢。因此雖然作品中並無出現明確獨立自主的近代女性意識，但是樋口一葉已跳脫前近代的束縛，為後起女性解放運動譜出前奏。

This research explores the development of feminine awareness in the works of Ichiyō Higuchi, the first female professional writer in Japan, through the analysis of the characters in her stories written in different phases of her life. Focus is placed upon women in an attempt to demonstrate that Ichiyō Higuchi does not follow pre-modern (the Edo Period) traditions but creates females of modernity and independent thinking. The first chapter of the research presents the primary issues of this research as well as its purposes and methods in addition to a brief biography of Ichiyō Higuchi, literature review and the current consensus on the issues. Chapter Two to Chapter Eight are discussions of the seven works along with the characters of Ichiyō Higuchi, in the order of publication dates, among which are Yamizakura, her debut, and five stories written in the summit of her writing career (the so-called “miraculous fourteen months”), including Takekurabe (“Child’s Play”), her major success, Jūsan'ya (“The Thirteenth Nights”)and Ōtsugomori (“The New Year’s Eve”), which have been adapted into theaters and screenplays. Warekara, while being the last piece discussed in the research, is also the last piece of Higuchi’s published work before she passed away. Feminine awareness being its central issue, the research covers males for the purpose of objectivity and highlight on the difficulties women live in, which underline the evolution of the awareness. Thus, in each of the seven chapters the discourse are divided into male perspective and female perspective rather than limited in one single dimension. Furthermore, the research looks into if the females in each story find a breakthrough from the conventional idea of “family” and obtain “individuality”. The conclusion of the research is two-fold. Modern female, if defined by the presence of independent thinking and behavioral competence, does not exist in Higuchi’s works. However, starting from a damsel who is trapped within her romantic fantasies and as Higuchi’s female image evolves, females in her major works realize the oppression bestowed upon them by the chauvinistic society and respond no longer with compromise but escape or resistance. The motive for the protagonist in Warekara to run away from her family cannot be easily labeled as self-awareness or mere lust; nonetheless, such action is one step closer to individuality. In the final chapter of the dissertation, Uramurasaki, an unfinished work of Higuchi’s, is concisely reviewed for its even more independent main character. All in all, in spite of the absence of explicit modern female awareness in her works, the author of the research considers Higuchi unbound of the pre-modern mindsets and a vanguard of the budding movement of female liberation.