This dissertation is a study of the mask as literary trope in European literature between 1890 and 1914. Through a comparative analysis of literary and dramatic works, and through a juxtaposition to works of visual art produced in the period, I illustrate how the mask takes numerous shapes and configurations as it is treated as a synecdoche, a metonymy, as a figure of antithesis. I show how, in spite of the mask’s changeability, it continues to echo the same concerns and to function as an image of death and rebirth. Moreover, I argue that the mask can be considered an uncanny phenomenon because of its flexibility as a signifier, as a “symbol that takes over the full functions of the thing it symbolizes” (Freud 1919, 244) and thus as an image of ambiguity and unintelligibility. I begin by pointing out the importance of masks in visual arts and in the philosophical and dramatic discourse of the period. I explain how the mask assumes in these years a new significance as a form of portraiture and how it is associated with the idea of fragment; I summarize the notion of masks in Nietzsche and examine how the mask relates to the concept of “uncanny” as formulated by Freud. I then show how several writers use masks to approach the matter of a conscious and unconscious self, constructing texts that parallel, and often prefigure the Freudian approach. In addition, I explain how the use of masks merges with sensibilities that are developing at the time, such as the notion of aestheticism, the fear of and fascination with the exotic, the assimilation of Darwinist theories, the notion of degeneration and of a declining phase in Western civilization. The analyses leads to the conclusions that, in all these texts, the mask becomes a trope for a potentially threatening alterity. The act of recognizing one’s mask coincides with a process of self knowledge, and is linked to the awareness of an uncomfortable resemblance with a dangerous, often “exotic” Other which is reflected in the repressed component of one’s self, but which is also an image of estrangement felt by the individual in a time of rapid change.

published_or_final_version / Chinese and Comparative Literary Studies / Master / Master of Arts

This dissertation is a study of the mask as literary trope in European literature between 1890 and 1914. Through a comparative analysis of literary and dramatic works, and through a juxtaposition to works of visual art produced in the period, I illustrate how the mask takes numerous shapes and configurations as it is treated as a synecdoche, a metonymy, as a figure of antithesis. I show how, in spite of the mask’s changeability, it continues to echo the same concerns and to function as an image of death and rebirth. Moreover, I argue that the mask can be considered an uncanny phenomenon because of its flexibility as a signifier, as a “symbol that takes over the full functions of the thing it symbolizes” (Freud 1919, 244) and thus as an image of ambiguity and unintelligibility. I begin by pointing out the importance of masks in visual arts and in the philosophical and dramatic discourse of the period. I explain how the mask assumes in these years a new significance as a form of portraiture and how it is associated with the idea of fragment; I summarize the notion of masks in Nietzsche and examine how the mask relates to the concept of “uncanny” as formulated by Freud. I then show how several writers use masks to approach the matter of a conscious and unconscious self, constructing texts that parallel, and often prefigure the Freudian approach. In addition, I explain how the use of masks merges with sensibilities that are developing at the time, such as the notion of aestheticism, the fear of and fascination with the exotic, the assimilation of Darwinist theories, the notion of degeneration and of a declining phase in Western civilization. The analyses leads to the conclusions that, in all these texts, the mask becomes a trope for a potentially threatening alterity. The act of recognizing one’s mask coincides with a process of self knowledge, and is linked to the awareness of an uncomfortable resemblance with a dangerous, often “exotic” Other which is reflected in the repressed component of one’s self, but which is also an image of estrangement felt by the individual in a time of rapid change.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, 2001. / Adviser: Zhang Yingjin. Includes bibliographical references (p. 196-208).

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This dissertation examines the general traits of Decadentismo and Scapigliatura and the position of the art and literary critic Vittorio Pica and the writer Carlo Dossi in representing and promoting themes directly linked to these two literary trends. Pica’s essays on the leading European writers of the day are published in All’avanguardia (1890) and Letteratura d’eccezione (1898). These two books are responsible for the introduction of French Decadentism in Italy. Pica is also known for categorizing decadent authors under the literary phenomenon of “arte aristocratica.” This is the term that Pica resorts to when classifying the ‘ultra aristocratic’ tendencies of authors worthy of this prestigious stature. Carlo Dossi is one of the most appealing figures within the Scapigliatura. His position within the movement is examined in light of the narrative and linguistic divertissement displayed in his works, the interplay of the subjective narratorial voice of the “I” and the writer’s revolutionary role within the Italian literary canon. Special emphasis is given to Dossi’s dismantling of the traditional literary text, the literature of the fantastic, humor and the role of the reader. These themes are exemplified in his personal journal Note azzurre and in the novels, L’altrieri, Vita di Alberto Pisani and La desinenza in A. Although Dossi the writer and Pica the critic produced works that are entirely different in nature, the dissertation attempts to draw attention to a series of convergences and divergences between the two of them.

M.A. dissertation, University of Hong Kong, 1976. / Typescript.

This dissertation examines the general traits of Decadentismo and Scapigliatura and the position of the art and literary critic Vittorio Pica and the writer Carlo Dossi in representing and promoting themes directly linked to these two literary trends. Pica’s essays on the leading European writers of the day are published in All’avanguardia (1890) and Letteratura d’eccezione (1898). These two books are responsible for the introduction of French Decadentism in Italy. Pica is also known for categorizing decadent authors under the literary phenomenon of “arte aristocratica.” This is the term that Pica resorts to when classifying the ‘ultra aristocratic’ tendencies of authors worthy of this prestigious stature. Carlo Dossi is one of the most appealing figures within the Scapigliatura. His position within the movement is examined in light of the narrative and linguistic divertissement displayed in his works, the interplay of the subjective narratorial voice of the “I” and the writer’s revolutionary role within the Italian literary canon. Special emphasis is given to Dossi’s dismantling of the traditional literary text, the literature of the fantastic, humor and the role of the reader. These themes are exemplified in his personal journal Note azzurre and in the novels, L’altrieri, Vita di Alberto Pisani and La desinenza in A. Although Dossi the writer and Pica the critic produced works that are entirely different in nature, the dissertation attempts to draw attention to a series of convergences and divergences between the two of them.