Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing

Liu Yixin

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14

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Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing

Liu Yixin

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 9, Issue 2)

Received: 21 March 2021 Accepted: 31 March 2021 Published: 13 April 2021

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Abstract

In Republican women writers’ works, the diary and epistolary modes are two common styles to reveal characters’ interior monologue (IM) and the flow of consciousness in fiction. The women writers often attempt to convey the self-introspection with female awareness through both narrative forms; in particular, women writers use it to express the narra¬tor/characters’ IM in a private enclosed situation. Through the specific textual analysis, it can be seen that the authors attempted to imply something through both of these narrative forms; in particular, women writers used this as a way to express the characters’ IM in private situations; for another thing, the usage of epistolary or diary forms could enable women writers to avoid possible criticism or blame when they tried to express their feminist feelings or thoughts. To some extent, this private narrative form provided an existential space for their discourse. No matter for the diary or the letter, seemingly it is merely a personal expression of thoughts and emotion, however in fact this was women writers’ intentional choice. They clearly knew that female writing was not yet the established norm, so most of women writers showed cautiousness in their creative writing. It achieves a more effective negotiation with a patriarchal society.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14
Page(s)	70-78
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Women’s Literature, Interior Monologue, Epistolary and Diary Writing, Patriarchy

References

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Liu Yixin. (2021). Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 9(2), 70-78. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14

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Liu Yixin. Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2021, 9(2), 70-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14

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AMA Style

Liu Yixin. Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing. Int J Lit Arts. 2021;9(2):70-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14,
  author = {Liu Yixin},
  title = {Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {70-78},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20210902.14},
  abstract = {In Republican women writers’ works, the diary and epistolary modes are two common styles to reveal characters’ interior monologue (IM) and the flow of consciousness in fiction. The women writers often attempt to convey the self-introspection with female awareness through both narrative forms; in particular, women writers use it to express the narra¬tor/characters’ IM in a private enclosed situation. Through the specific textual analysis, it can be seen that the authors attempted to imply something through both of these narrative forms; in particular, women writers used this as a way to express the characters’ IM in private situations; for another thing, the usage of epistolary or diary forms could enable women writers to avoid possible criticism or blame when they tried to express their feminist feelings or thoughts. To some extent, this private narrative form provided an existential space for their discourse. No matter for the diary or the letter, seemingly it is merely a personal expression of thoughts and emotion, however in fact this was women writers’ intentional choice. They clearly knew that female writing was not yet the established norm, so most of women writers showed cautiousness in their creative writing. It achieves a more effective negotiation with a patriarchal society.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing
AU  - Liu Yixin
Y1  - 2021/04/13
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 70
EP  - 78
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14
AB  - In Republican women writers’ works, the diary and epistolary modes are two common styles to reveal characters’ interior monologue (IM) and the flow of consciousness in fiction. The women writers often attempt to convey the self-introspection with female awareness through both narrative forms; in particular, women writers use it to express the narra¬tor/characters’ IM in a private enclosed situation. Through the specific textual analysis, it can be seen that the authors attempted to imply something through both of these narrative forms; in particular, women writers used this as a way to express the characters’ IM in private situations; for another thing, the usage of epistolary or diary forms could enable women writers to avoid possible criticism or blame when they tried to express their feminist feelings or thoughts. To some extent, this private narrative form provided an existential space for their discourse. No matter for the diary or the letter, seemingly it is merely a personal expression of thoughts and emotion, however in fact this was women writers’ intentional choice. They clearly knew that female writing was not yet the established norm, so most of women writers showed cautiousness in their creative writing. It achieves a more effective negotiation with a patriarchal society.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Liu Yixin

Department of Asian Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

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APA Style

Liu Yixin. (2021). Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 9(2), 70-78. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14

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ACS Style

Liu Yixin. Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2021, 9(2), 70-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14

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AMA Style

Liu Yixin. Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing. Int J Lit Arts. 2021;9(2):70-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14,
  author = {Liu Yixin},
  title = {Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {70-78},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20210902.14},
  abstract = {In Republican women writers’ works, the diary and epistolary modes are two common styles to reveal characters’ interior monologue (IM) and the flow of consciousness in fiction. The women writers often attempt to convey the self-introspection with female awareness through both narrative forms; in particular, women writers use it to express the narra¬tor/characters’ IM in a private enclosed situation. Through the specific textual analysis, it can be seen that the authors attempted to imply something through both of these narrative forms; in particular, women writers used this as a way to express the characters’ IM in private situations; for another thing, the usage of epistolary or diary forms could enable women writers to avoid possible criticism or blame when they tried to express their feminist feelings or thoughts. To some extent, this private narrative form provided an existential space for their discourse. No matter for the diary or the letter, seemingly it is merely a personal expression of thoughts and emotion, however in fact this was women writers’ intentional choice. They clearly knew that female writing was not yet the established norm, so most of women writers showed cautiousness in their creative writing. It achieves a more effective negotiation with a patriarchal society.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Enclosed Self-introspection and Camouflage: Interior Monologue in Republican Chinese Women’s Epistolary and Diary Writing
AU  - Liu Yixin
Y1  - 2021/04/13
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 70
EP  - 78
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210902.14
AB  - In Republican women writers’ works, the diary and epistolary modes are two common styles to reveal characters’ interior monologue (IM) and the flow of consciousness in fiction. The women writers often attempt to convey the self-introspection with female awareness through both narrative forms; in particular, women writers use it to express the narra¬tor/characters’ IM in a private enclosed situation. Through the specific textual analysis, it can be seen that the authors attempted to imply something through both of these narrative forms; in particular, women writers used this as a way to express the characters’ IM in private situations; for another thing, the usage of epistolary or diary forms could enable women writers to avoid possible criticism or blame when they tried to express their feminist feelings or thoughts. To some extent, this private narrative form provided an existential space for their discourse. No matter for the diary or the letter, seemingly it is merely a personal expression of thoughts and emotion, however in fact this was women writers’ intentional choice. They clearly knew that female writing was not yet the established norm, so most of women writers showed cautiousness in their creative writing. It achieves a more effective negotiation with a patriarchal society.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download