Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Brenda L. Cappuccio, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Modern Languages and Linguistics. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Mar. 1, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Brenda L. Cappuccio, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Modern Languages and Linguistics. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Mar. 1, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Romance Languages and Literatures, December 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Comparative Literature, August 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-238). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.A.I.S.)--Oregon State University, 2002. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-82). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2002. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 188 p. Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: Stephen J. Summerhill, Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese. Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-188).

 The thesis deals with the concept of feminine sublimation among Chinese feminist writings and theory. Previous feminist readings of literary works of Chinese female writers tended to confuse the Freudian concept of sublimation with “aestheticized politics” and utopian desire. These feminist readings have concentrated on articulating an authentic subject beyond power relations. I would however, redefine the concept of feminine sublimation as a theoretical trope to articulate the possible emergence of female subjectivity within specific power relations. Although gender performativity has become a universally circulated concept to theorize the subversive depiction of female bodies in particular cultural contexts, I argue that any performative reiteration would not be adequately contextualized and historicized when its usage ignores issues of female subjectivity in terms of sublimation. Chapter one of the thesis begins with various feminist approaches to the relationship of sublimation and performativity. Chapter two re-reads a novel Song of Youth in the socialist era. The conventional conception of sublimation is re-examined contextually in a way that the consideration of gender performativity alone would not be able to do. Through reading a canonical work of the “nationalist feminist” writer Xiao Hong, chapter three delineates the relation between my redefined concept of feminine sublimation and the possibility of political coalition, and explains how this relation provides a totally different understanding of performative reiteration. I would finally redefines the fundamental relationship between feminist subjectivity and performative politics. / published_or_final_version / Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis studies the Qing women’s writings on the Dream of the Red Chamber. Qing women’s comments on the novel formed an important aspect of the second high tide of women’s literature in late imperial China. By examining these writings, I intend to reveal how the women authors mediated with the Confucian morality and how they exerted influence on the literary tradition from its inside. I also intend to examine the women authors’ self-representations and their reflections on the actual world they lived in. The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one introduces the historical background of the rise of women’s writings on the Dream of the Red Chamber, and proceeds to discuss women’s self-representations under the influence of the Chinese literary tradition, as well as the conflict between morality and literary talent they often felt. I will also briefly summarize previous scholarly works concerning this subject. Chapter two analyzes Qing women’s poetic works and literary activities concerning the novel. I will make a few observations on the general tendency of women’s responses to the novel by examining their writing conditions, communities, the points they wanted to articulate, and their literary skills. Chapter three and four investigate two women writers, namely, Wu Lanzheng and Gu Taiqing, respectively. Among the dramatic works adapted from the novel, Jiang Heng Qiu by Wu is known to be the only existing work written by a female author. In this part of my discussion, I will include Wu’s poetic works on the novel and her personal experiences to shed light on the dramatic work. On the other hand, Honglou Meng Ying (The shadow of the Dream of the Red chamber) by Gu is the most profound and extensive response to the original novel by a female author. Considering that Gu’s life was quite similar to the literary characters in the book and a variety of her writings have survived, I will conduct a detailed study of her poetic and dramatic works before I look into her novel. The closing chapter draws conclusions from the previous chapters in the following three aspects: first, the influence of the textual world on the reality; second, women writers’ tendency of adopting the values of morality and literary talent concurrently, as well as their contributions to the literary tradition; and, third, the significance of Gu Taiqing’s case and Honglou meng ying. To sum up, inspired by the Dream of the Red Chamber, the Qing women authors undertook a rich variety of literary activities which demonstrated the complex relations between self and writing, and these women’s life experiences and creative activities also constituted an earthly picture of the “red chambers”. / published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

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