Structure and stylistics in the short works of Shiga Naoya.

Abstract

The dissertation explores the ways that Shiga Naoya (1883-1971) used techniques of style and structure to support the presentation of specific themes in his short fiction. Although Shiga is acclaimed in Japan as a master of modern fiction, many Western critics, and some Japanese writers, have complained that his stories lack the formal features of narrative that often serve as cohesive elements in the modern novel: tight plot, dramatic incident, strong characterization, etc. Rarely do these studies attempt to reveal the stylistic and structural devices that do inform Shiga's fiction. Many critics view his work as primarily autobiographical, and concentrate on connections between Shiga's life and events in his stories. This dissertation, however, is concerned with the expectations that readers (especially those educated in a Western literary context) bring to their reading of Shiga, and the ways his work satisfies or fails to satisfy those expectations. Shiga's techniques of narration, characterization, and irony are compared with representative Western models. These comparisons show that Shiga did use narrative techniques similar to those used by some of the most influential writers in the West. Despite the similarities, however, there are many stylistic and structural aspects of Shiga's work that differ significantly from the Western models. His style uses literary and linguistic elements that are rarely discussed or analyzed, and consequently may escape the notice of readers expecting a "st and ard" novel. Shiga's structural choices, too, follow techniques from earlier Japanese literary forms, but may be overlooked by readers whose definitions of the novel do not include such possibilities. Many of Shiga's stories are constructed using systemic structural metaphor: they are based on narrative and textual connections that are spatial and relational, rather than the temporal/causal connections that the modern reader might expect. The overall effect of Shiga's style and structure is to dissolve (temporarily) the barriers of time and space that are often taken for granted (indeed celebrated) in modern literature. Many of Shiga's stories have themes of connection between things or people that are actually physically and temporally separate; his idiosyncratic literary techniques are ideal for the support of such themes.