On Xu Yigua's Urban Fictions

The Fujian authoress Xu Yigua is among the most famous writers in contemporary literary world and arouses an extended interest in both literary and critic fields since the 21st century. The studies on Xu's works made by the critical circles mainly focus on the connotations, narrative art and the portray of characters. However, the study on her fictions from the perspective of urban novel has not been paid much attention, and urban culture is the most distinctive feature of her fictions. On the basis of the above facts, this thesis will put the fictions of Xu Yigua into the overall developmental process of contemporary urban literature, and observe them in a comprehensive way. The historical and comparative research methods are adopted, and then close reading and the study of the writer's creative psychology are combined to discuss the manifestations of Xu's observation of urban life, which is known for its profundity and richness. The novelty and distinctiveness of Xu's fictions are analyzed to delve into the causes that drive her to compose, thus summarizing the enlightenment of Xu's fictions for the contemporary urban literature.Although urban literature has become the mainstream in the contemporary literary field, it still has some shortages. The superficial representation of accumulated desires in the cities which leads to the lack of deep consideration is the biggest predicament of the present urban literature. Comparing to the New Realistic novelists who show and identify the actuality of the trivial daily life, and the New Generation novelists and the Generation X who depict the urban life in an admiring way and show their lust incontinently, Xu Yigua has been trying her best to correct the unhealthy tendency in composing urban literature and make profound observation on urban life. She is good at anatomizing people's complexity and vulnerability in an abnormal urban society and demonstrates the humanistic care of a writer. At the same time, she also surveys and criticizes the dark side of the urban life, and shows her strong dissatisfaction to the urban social relations. However, she is still optimistic about the future of urban society, thus providing the spiritual power for human beings.Xu's distinctive artistic features enhance her urban compositions. The unique female image portrayed by Xu not only completes the concern for the female, but also transcends the gender and reaches the ultimate concern for human beings. The narrative structure of Xu's fictions is like a"communicating pipe", and the extensive urban scene helps to enrich and deepen the connotations of the fictions, so the tragic beauty of Xu's fictions shakes the readers'mind. The rich connotations and novel artistic expressions are closely related to her profession as a journalist, creating conception and the strong urban consciousness. The humanistic care and realistic criticism embodied in Xu's works defend the dignity of literature and show us the social value of her fictions. At the same time, the contemporary urban fictions are enriched by the legal world constructed in Xu's works.