This thesis is a broadly chronological study of representations of Japan and the Japanese in Australian novels, stories and memoirs from the late nineteenth century to the twenty-first century. Adopting Edward Said???s Orientalist notion of the `Other???, it attempts to elaborate patterns in which Australian authors describe and evaluate the Japanese. As well as examining these patterns of representation, this thesis outlines the course of their development and change over the years, how they relate to the context in which they occur, and how they contribute to the formation of wider Australian views on Japan and the Japanese. The thesis considers the role of certain Australian authors in formulating images and ideas of the Japanese ???Other???. These authors, ranging from fiction writers to journalists, scholars and war memoirists, act as observers, interpreters, translators, and sometimes ???traitors??? in their cross-cultural interactions. The thesis includes work from within and outside ???mainstream??? writings, thus expanding the contexts of Australian literary history. The major ???periods??? of Australian literature discussed in this thesis include: the 1880s to World War II; the Pacific War; the post-war period; and the multicultural period (1980s to 2000). While a comprehensive examination of available literature reveals the powerful and continuing influence of the Pacific War, images of ???the stranger???, ???the enemy??? and later ???the ally??? or ???partner??? are shown to vary according to authors, situations and wider international relations. This thesis also examines gender issues, which are often brought into sharp relief in cross-cultural representations. While typical East-West power-relationships are reflected in gender relations, more complex approaches are also taken by some authors. This thesis argues that, while certain patterns recur, such as versions of the ???Cho-Cho-San??? or ???Madame Butterfly??? story, Japan-related works have given some Australian authors, especially women, opportunities to reveal more ???liberated??? viewpoints than seemed possible in their own cultural context. As the first extensive study of Japan in Australian literary consciousness, this thesis brings to the surface many neglected texts. It shows a pattern of changing interests and interactions between two nations whose economic interactions have usually been explored more deeply than their literary and cultural relations.

Scholarship has firmly established that the short story cycle is well-suited to representations of community. This study considers eight North American examples of the genre: four by Canadian authors Stephen Leacock, Duncan Campbell Scott, George Elliott, and Alice Munro; and four by American authors Sarah Orne Jewett, Sherwood Anderson, John Cheever, and Joyce Carol Oates. My original idea was to discover whether there were significant differences between the Canadian and American cycles, but ultimately I became far more interested in the way that all of the cycles address community formation and disintegration. The focus of each cycle is a small community, whether a small town, a village, or a suburb. In all of the examples, the authors address the small community as the focus of anxiety, concern, criticism, and praise, with special attention to the way in which, despite its manifold failings, the small community continues to inspire longings for the ideal home and source of identity. The narrative feature that ultimately provided the critical framework for the study is the recurring presence of the metropolis in all of the eight cycles. The city, set on the horizons of these small communities, consistently provides a backdrop against which author and characters seem to measure and understand their lives. Always an influence (whether for good or bad), the city’s presence is constructed as the other against which the small community’s identity is formulated and understood. The relationship between small community and city led me to an investigation into the mythology of the small community, a mythology that sets the small community in opposition to the city, portraying the former as the keeper of virtue and the latter as the disseminator of vice. The cycles themselves, as I increasingly discovered, challenge the mythology by identifying how the small community depends, in large part, on the city for self-understanding. The small community, however, as an idea, and a mythic ideal, is never dismissed as obsolete or irrelevant.

Scholarship has firmly established that the short story cycle is well-suited to representations of community. This study considers eight North American examples of the genre: four by Canadian authors Stephen Leacock, Duncan Campbell Scott, George Elliott, and Alice Munro; and four by American authors Sarah Orne Jewett, Sherwood Anderson, John Cheever, and Joyce Carol Oates. My original idea was to discover whether there were significant differences between the Canadian and American cycles, but ultimately I became far more interested in the way that all of the cycles address community formation and disintegration. The focus of each cycle is a small community, whether a small town, a village, or a suburb. In all of the examples, the authors address the small community as the focus of anxiety, concern, criticism, and praise, with special attention to the way in which, despite its manifold failings, the small community continues to inspire longings for the ideal home and source of identity. The narrative feature that ultimately provided the critical framework for the study is the recurring presence of the metropolis in all of the eight cycles. The city, set on the horizons of these small communities, consistently provides a backdrop against which author and characters seem to measure and understand their lives. Always an influence (whether for good or bad), the city’s presence is constructed as the other against which the small community’s identity is formulated and understood. The relationship between small community and city led me to an investigation into the mythology of the small community, a mythology that sets the small community in opposition to the city, portraying the former as the keeper of virtue and the latter as the disseminator of vice. The cycles themselves, as I increasingly discovered, challenge the mythology by identifying how the small community depends, in large part, on the city for self-understanding. The small community, however, as an idea, and a mythic ideal, is never dismissed as obsolete or irrelevant.

Esta tesis doctoral se centra en la prospección de lo fantástico en la narrativa breve del escritor francés Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850). La investigación se estructura en cinco capítulos, más el dedicado a las referencias bibliográficas. Tras los aspectos de tipo teórico e histórico ligados a lo fantástico, se analizan las circunstancias culturales, ideológicas y personales que intervinieron en la gestación de lo fantástico balzaquiano. A continuación se estudia la articulación formal de lo fantástico en los once textos balzaquianos seleccionados. Siguiendo el modelo de análisis propuesto por Joël Malrieu se han estudiado cuatro categorías: personaje, fenómeno irracional, espacio-tiempo y narrador.Del estudio se desprende que los relatos fantásticos balzaquianos se ajustan a la caracterización estética del género que establece Malrieu. Balzac conoce y domina la técnica compositiva inherente a lo fantástico en el relato breve, pudiendo afirmar que esta faceta creativa va más allá de una simple concesión a la moda pasajera del momento. / This doctoral thesis focuses on the search for the fantastic ingredient in the short stories by the French writer Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850). The research is organized in five chapters, plus the bibliography.After examining the theoretical and historical aspects linked to the fantastic component, we analyze the cultural, ideological and personal circumstances which took part in the gestation of the fantastic elements in Honoré de Balzac. Afterwards, we study the formal articulation of this in the eleven texts by Balzac that we have selected. Following the analysis scheme proposed by Joël Malrieu, we have studied four categories: character, irrational phenomenon, space-time and narrator. From this research, we can conclude that Honoré de Balzac short stories come into the aesthetic characterization of the genre established by Malrieu. Balzac knows very well the writing technique inherent to the fantastic ingredient in the short story. Definitely, we can state that this creative facet is more than a simple concession to the temporary fashion of his time.

This work concerns the book "Litauiska noveller" [Lithuanian Short Stories],  a collection of nine Lithuanian short stories translated into Swedish by noted Finnish diplomat Ragnar Öller (1893-1960) and tutor and  journalist Nils Bohman (1902-1943).   The authors of the nine short stories are Jonas Biliūnas, Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius, Antanas Žukauskas-Vienuolis, Ignas Jurkunas-Scheynius, Jurgis Savickis, Petras Cvirka, and Petronėlė Orintaitė. The 242-page book published 1940 in Stockholm, was the first translation of literary texts from the Lithuanian appearing in the Swedish language. In spite of a professionally carried out translation, the book never gained the attention of Swedish literary circles, and has more or less been forgotten throughout the post war period and up to the present. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the history leading up to the publication of the book within the context of Swedish-Lithuanian relations, and analyse the possible reasons of why this work remained unnoticed for so many decades. Why was the book not reviewed in the Swedish daily press? Was the book ignored because of the choice of authors of the novels? Was the disregard due to the political situation? A discussion from a few selected points of view follows on some possible reasons of why the launch of "Litauiska noveller" failed in 1940. An appendix listing published works of Lithuanian authors in the Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Icelandic) up to 1996 is attached.

Scholarship has firmly established that the short story cycle is well-suited to representations of community. This study considers eight North American examples of the genre: four by Canadian authors Stephen Leacock, Duncan Campbell Scott, George Elliott, and Alice Munro; and four by American authors Sarah Orne Jewett, Sherwood Anderson, John Cheever, and Joyce Carol Oates. My original idea was to discover whether there were significant differences between the Canadian and American cycles, but ultimately I became far more interested in the way that all of the cycles address community formation and disintegration. The focus of each cycle is a small community, whether a small town, a village, or a suburb. In all of the examples, the authors address the small community as the focus of anxiety, concern, criticism, and praise, with special attention to the way in which, despite its manifold failings, the small community continues to inspire longings for the ideal home and source of identity. The narrative feature that ultimately provided the critical framework for the study is the recurring presence of the metropolis in all of the eight cycles. The city, set on the horizons of these small communities, consistently provides a backdrop against which author and characters seem to measure and understand their lives. Always an influence (whether for good or bad), the city’s presence is constructed as the other against which the small community’s identity is formulated and understood. The relationship between small community and city led me to an investigation into the mythology of the small community, a mythology that sets the small community in opposition to the city, portraying the former as the keeper of virtue and the latter as the disseminator of vice. The cycles themselves, as I increasingly discovered, challenge the mythology by identifying how the small community depends, in large part, on the city for self-understanding. The small community, however, as an idea, and a mythic ideal, is never dismissed as obsolete or irrelevant.

Para comenzar quisiera dar una breve idea de cómo entiendo a Borges –al respecto me he manifestado en un buen número de publicaciones desde 1989, pero no sobre los motivos o puntos de arranque – y describir así cómo llegué a mi interpretación sobre Borges y a considerarlo como uno de los fundadores de la teoría de "muchos mundos" ("Many Worlds Theory"), de mundos virtuales y de medios virtuales/digitales y de los "New Media". Su escritura representa un acto de percepción, comprensión, implosión y expansión, ésta es una "encicopledia navegante", Borges es así el primer navegador o "user in the web".

En el año 1992 se publicó un importante libro, editado por Paul Geyer y Roland Hagenbüchle con el título Das Paradox. Eine Herausforderung des abendländischen Denkens, donde el fenómeno de la paradoja se describe como parte integral de la postmodernidad y de la obra de Borges. Estas constataciones me llamaron la atención en esta formulación tan general ya que la paradoja se encuentra en los presocráticos - como los participantes del volumen muy bien saben -, y las descripciones y razones que los autores dan para su lugar privilegiado en la postmodernidad como en la obra de Borges me parecieron dignas de algunas breves reflexiones.

This thesis is a broadly chronological study of representations of Japan and the Japanese in Australian novels, stories and memoirs from the late nineteenth century to the twenty-first century. Adopting Edward Said???s Orientalist notion of the `Other???, it attempts to elaborate patterns in which Australian authors describe and evaluate the Japanese. As well as examining these patterns of representation, this thesis outlines the course of their development and change over the years, how they relate to the context in which they occur, and how they contribute to the formation of wider Australian views on Japan and the Japanese. The thesis considers the role of certain Australian authors in formulating images and ideas of the Japanese ???Other???. These authors, ranging from fiction writers to journalists, scholars and war memoirists, act as observers, interpreters, translators, and sometimes ???traitors??? in their cross-cultural interactions. The thesis includes work from within and outside ???mainstream??? writings, thus expanding the contexts of Australian literary history. The major ???periods??? of Australian literature discussed in this thesis include: the 1880s to World War II; the Pacific War; the post-war period; and the multicultural period (1980s to 2000). While a comprehensive examination of available literature reveals the powerful and continuing influence of the Pacific War, images of ???the stranger???, ???the enemy??? and later ???the ally??? or ???partner??? are shown to vary according to authors, situations and wider international relations. This thesis also examines gender issues, which are often brought into sharp relief in cross-cultural representations. While typical East-West power-relationships are reflected in gender relations, more complex approaches are also taken by some authors. This thesis argues that, while certain patterns recur, such as versions of the ???Cho-Cho-San??? or ???Madame Butterfly??? story, Japan-related works have given some Australian authors, especially women, opportunities to reveal more ???liberated??? viewpoints than seemed possible in their own cultural context. As the first extensive study of Japan in Australian literary consciousness, this thesis brings to the surface many neglected texts. It shows a pattern of changing interests and interactions between two nations whose economic interactions have usually been explored more deeply than their literary and cultural relations.

Nossa pesquisa analisa, por meio da leitura e posterior comparação das narrativas, a confluência temática do erotismo, nos contos “Felicidade Clandestina” e “As Águas do Mundo”, da obra Felicidade Clandestina (lançada em 1971), de Clarice Lispector, e nos contos “As cerejas”, narrativa componente da obra Seleta (publicada em 1971) e “O Menino”, publicado na obra O Cacto Vermelho (de 1949, sendo posteriormente incluído em Antes do Baile Verde, de 1970), de Lygia Fagundes Telles. A intenção é relacionar o erotismo ao desnudamento do universo das personagens femininas, sondando, nas referidas obras, o modo pelo qual se esculpe essa sexualidade e recorrendo-se, para isso, à análise da linguagem - ou linguagens - utilizada. Ademais, pretendemos investigar o processo de busca de asserção de identidade das personagens femininas, demonstrando a relevância do erotismo para a evolução do enredo das obras analisadas e para o desenvolvimento do perfil dos personagens, apontando a temática como um dos mecanismos de melhor compreensão da condição feminina e da própria existência humana. Para a consecução dos objetivos apresentados, valemo-nos de uma pesquisa de caráter reflexivo e bibliográfico, tratando de um estudo interpretativo do texto literário, a partir de conhecimentos estruturados sobre o gênero conto e a temática do erotismo. / Our research analyzes, through the reading and later comparison of the narratives, the thematic confluence of eroticism, in the short stories “Felicidade Clandestina” and “As Águas do Mundo” the literary work of Felicidade Clandestina (launched in 1971), by Clarice Lispector, and in the short stories “As cerejas”, of the literary work Seleta (launched in 1971), and “O Menino”, published in the literary work O Cacto Vermelho (from 1949, and later included in Antes do Baile Verde, from 1970), by Lygia Fagundes Telles. The intention is to relate the eroticism to the uncovered of the universe of female characters, probing, in these works, the way by which if sculpts the feminine sexuality, using, for this reason, the analysis of language - or languages - used. In addition, we want to investigate the search process of identity assertion of female characters, demonstrating the relevance of eroticism for evolution of the plot of the investigated works and for the development of the profile of the characters, pointing the theme as one of the mechanisms for better understanding of the condition of women and of human existence itself. In order to achieve the objectives presented, we use a research of a reflexive and bibliographical nature, dealing with an interpretative study of the literary text, originating from structured knowledge about the genre short story and the theme of eroticism. / Dissertação (Mestrado)