Date of Award
12-11-2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Most critical accounts of the life and works of Kurahashi Yumiko (1935-2005) cite her self-acknowledged turn to conservatism in 1970 to explain why the style and content of her writing changed dramatically at that time. This dissertation expands our understanding of this so-called “transformation” through an examination of Kurahashi’s “Keiko-san Series,” a set of nine texts originally published between 1970 and 2002. Despite its substantial share in Kurahashi’s collected works, the “Series” has largely flown under the critical radar; in filling this void in Kurahashi scholarship, this dissertation asks the question “What position does the ‘Keiko-san Series’ occupy in Kurahashi’s oeuvre, and what is its significance, to her and to Japanese literature more broadly?” It identifies four main characteristics that qualify the “Series” as an important and generative contribution to this field. First, the heroine of the “Series,” Yamada Keiko, makes manifest Kurahashi’s prescient beliefs about sex, gender, and sexuality and embodies her peculiar brand of feminism, distinct from other writers but no less meaningful. Through Kurahashi’s signature technique of pastiche, these narratives reimagine celebrated stories, classical and modern alike, Western and Japanese, centering women’s experience, sexuality, and camaraderie. At the conclusion of the “Series,” other voices broaden Keiko’s world to include new subject positions and new subjects while maintaining its core features and appeal. The combination of these elements—insightful depictions of sexuality, provocative pastiche, a unique feminist stance, and a seemingly ever-expanding world—renders the “Keiko-san Series” not simply worthy of being read, but worthy of being studied. Further, these “pillars” of the “Keiko-san Series” reveal that it sustains Kurahashi’s career-spanning commitment to the “possibilities of performance,” indicating continuity rather than rupture in this respect. Kurahashi herself may have stated her opposition to “women’s liberation” and activism in general, but a careful exploration of the “Keiko-san Series” uncovers a vital, radical feminism lying dormant and unrecognized within it. To awaken it, all that is needed is readers like you.
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
Rebecca Copeland
Recommended Citation
Levine, Emily Frances, "Possibilities of Performance: Sexuality, Pastiche, and Feminist Thought in Kurahashi Yumiko’s “Keiko-san Series”" (2023). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3202.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/3202