Exploration Of Views On Family And Marriage In The Gate By Natsume Soseki

Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) is a top Japanese writer who enjoys a highreputation in his country and is known as "national great writer". In Japan, NatsumeSoseki is considered to be the father of Modernism in literature. Natsume Soseki’searly works show strong criticism of Japan’s modern society with unique style ofsatire and humor, while his later works mainly focus on the modern ethical problems,revealing the conflict between individual liberation and social customs. NatsumeSoseki is a master of psychological description and analysis. In his novels, Japaneseintellectuals’ struggle between tradition and modernization in Meiji period is wellreflected, and the thought for the essence of Japanese industrialization and self-establishment is clearly presented.One of Natsume Soseki’s great novels, The Gate (1910), was serialized in AsahiShimbun of Tokyo and Osaka from March1to June12in the43rdyear of Meijiperiod. The Door, together with Sanshiro (1908), And Then (1909), is known as"Early Love Trilogy" in modern Japanese literature world. The novel is very specialin all of Soseki Natsume’s works, for it marks a turning point at which the writer’scritical thinking of the society was shifted to the inner world of the individuals.Though studies of Soseki Natsume’s works are very popular both in Japan and China,The Gate, the writer’s favorite work, has received little notice. In a handful of formerstudies, researchers tend to center on the images of the main characters Sōsuke andOyone and their inner world. In this thesis, the present author makes an intensivestudy of Soseki Natsume and The Gate from the perspective of culture, society andhistory with the application of New Historicism, Freudian psychoanalysis andliterary theories of cultural study. The research is based on the novel text and newinterpretation of the themes in The Gate is conveyed. Also, further exploration of theviews on family and marriage in the novel and analysis of its cultural and socialbackground is provided.The thesis is written in three parts. First of all, an interpretation of Sōsuke andOyone’s family values is presented. The exploration focuses on the conjugal relationship and parent-child relationship in the novel and brings a conclusion thatSōsuke and Oyone have a child-centered family with their mutual respect andfaithful love. The couple set up their “nuclear family” on solid emotional foundationwith the notion of breadwinning men and domestic women, which shows that theyhave the very modern family view.In the second part, the writer introduces the theory of Freudian psychoanalysis,probing the psychological origin of literature and the mental motivation of literarycreation. And this helps to understand Sōsuke and Oyone’s attitude towards love inThe Gate. It is believed that the couple breaks the shackles of feudal love viewpointcored by the ethics of loyalty and filial piety, and pursues pure love under the impactof individualism. However, after the couple’s betrayal of their friend Yasui, their“pure” love somewhat places heavy moral burden on them. From a certain extent,literature reflects human life through writers’ aesthetic sensory experience. As isclosely related to Natsume Soseki’s personal experience of love and family, The Gateactually mirrors the writer’s thought, and thus the review of Sōsuke and Oyone’s“love” and “sin” with the inquiry into their value on love and marriage is verymeaningful. In essence, the couple’s attitude towards love and marriage is a perfectembodiment of Natsume Soseki’s ego-based individual values, reflecting the writer’sstruggle between modernization and traditional ethical morality.Finally, the thesis focuses on the links between Japanese industrialization andthe family values in The Gate by the application of New Historicism and literarytheories of cultural study. The possible influence in China is also discussed here. InThe Gate, Natsume Soseki shows the courage to pursue individualistic value in purelove, egotistical value on love and marriage, and modern family views centered on“nuclear families”. It is believed that the modern views on family and marriage inJapan are resulted from the Meiji Restoration, fast developed capitalist economy andthe popularity of modern education. The novel has brought extensive and profoundsocial significance. First, the root of the father-oriented system in Japan is broken. Atthe same time, the feudal marriage and economic foundation of traditional familysystem in Japan are shaked. Second, the novel attacks the feudal values on love andmarriage and presents the modern views on family and marriage which advocate theidea of “free love”,“being independent in marriage” and “equal rights”. Besides, thenovel can be taken as a guide for new marriage in the traditional society which is still dominated by the feudal ethical morality. Meanwhile, Natsume Soseki wiselypredicts the problem of halfway “thought liberation” caused by rapidindustrialization of Japan and indiscriminately aping of Western culture. He proposesthe real individualistic morality that self-fulfillment should be under the condition ofrespecting others and their freedom. The new social moral standard is not only ofgreat importance to Japan at the beginning of the20thcentury, but also could bepositive for China now. The individualistic morality by Natsume Soseki affirms theadvanced idea of freedom and equality, strongly criticizing the selfish egotism thatone can pursue one’s own profits at the expense of others interests. Since China isnow in an important transitional period and going through the process ofrestructuring in all the aspects, Natsume Soseki’s reflection of the problems inindustrialization and the exploration of self-establishment in the modern societycould afford us valuable lessons.Literature is a mirror of the times. As part of superstructure, literature isdetermined by social existence and can also react on it. The great Japanese literaturemaster Natsume Soseki, with his strong sense of social responsibility, is fully awareof the great ideological change in Japan at the Meiji period. Facing the conflictsbetween ideals and reality, the fight between the new and the old, the gap betweenthe tradition and modern system, Natsume Soseki expresses his concern of themodernism from the perspective of views on family and marriage in his novel.Natsume Soseki’s works convey the spirit of the age and are of great significance tothe society, which might explain why his woks are widely read not in Japan but alsoin the world.