Colonization And Intermarriage:A Comparative Study Of Novels About Interracial Marriage In Colonial Taiwan And Korea

The love,cohabitation,and marriage between the colonists and the colonized people were important social phenomena during the colonial period.In colonial Taiwan and Korea,Japan actively encouraged interracial marriage.In this historical context,some novels themed on interracial love,cohabitation,and marriage can help us have a good understanding of Japan's intermarriage policy and the colonial intermarriage reality.At present,there has not been a comparative study of novels from the perspective of intermarriage.This comparative study takes Wang Xiongxiong's Running(1943)and Jeong In-Taek's Shell(1942),Zhu Dianren's^Stand out(1936)and Chae Man-Silk's Frozen Fish(1940)as the key objects.By comparison,we can more objectively grasp the Japanese colonial rules and its operational mechanisms in East Asia,and furthermore,have a better understanding of the different colonial experiences by novels.This study,adopting Erving Goffman's theory of dramaturgy,Fanon's theory of postcolonialism and comparative literature methodology,focuses on the self-presentation of individuals in national ideology narrative and personal desire narrative,so as to clarify the meaning of intermarriage.Chapter One discusses the historical background of intermarriage and compares Taiwanese and Korean novels.On the whole,the solution to the problem of intermarriage in Taiwan is 10 years later than Korea,and there are obvious differences in the number of marriages and gender combinations.In addition,Korean novels are richer than Taiwanese novels regarding the combination of gender,and the love narrative model.Chapter Two explores the influence of national will on intermarriage novels.Running and Shell shows the unity of individual will and national will,however,the former is more determined than the latter.Besides,in terms of the writing strategy of intermarriage rationalization,the writers select different identity strategies on shaping colonial males.Chapter Three discusses the personal choice of intermarriage in novels.In the context Stand out and Frozen Fish,Taiwanese men are more active than Korean men with regard to their attitudes and choices of intermarriage,due to the oppression on them from both the nation and the class.Besides,it can be found that the colonists will issue different invitations to the colonized people according to their own interests or needs,whose marriage strategies are of different flexibility.Finally,Chapter Four analyzes the setback types in the novels.Through the comparative study,it is found that Taiwanese novels majorly center on ethnic differences,while Korean novels mainly focus on the contradictions made by unpredictable parents.The differences are derived from the different colonial ideology adopted by Japan towards Taiwan and Korea.All in all,the national ideology and individual desire are two important aspects reflected in intermarriage novels.On one hand,under the foreground of colonial rule,the intervention of national ideology prompts individuals to constantly adjust their inner selves.On the other hand,the desire of both colonists and colonized people surges behind the scenes of colonial rules,that preserved in literary works.