| The first chapter addresses the question of authorship and date. The common assumption of Pu Songling's authorship is shown to be unfounded, the novel's attribution to Ding Yaokang is demonstrated to be unlikely. The claim of some scholars that the novel was composed during the late Ming is refuted.;The third chapter describes the novel's structure as dominated by the symmetry of the reincarnation device, and discusses such stylistic features as intertextual allusion, shifts of narrative voice, exaggeration, caricature, lively dialogue, punning and paraphrasing, and a mock-heroic tendency that heightens the comic-satiric effect.;The fourth chapter points out the significance of the notion of "repetition" in Chinese thought and fiction. It describes repetition's nature, characteristics and manifestations, and demonstrates how the structural unity of the novel is achieved through a conjunction of thematic, rhetorical, and verbal repetition.;The second chapter discusses the author's concern with the disorder arising from the inversion of the social hierarchy, and focuses on the theme of the shrewish wife and her intimidated husband. Following a survey of earlier literature on this theme, an analysis is given of its implementation in this novel. |
