The Descent of the Japanese Patriarch: from History to Literary Representations
Following the Second World War, Japan plunged into a deep identity crisis. This was due partly to the shock of being defeated in the war, but mostly to the inability to cope with the downfall of the Emperor, the Father of the nation, the direct descendant of the Sun goddess, who had failed to pro...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Casa Cărții de Știință
2014-10-01
|
| Series: | Cultural Intertexts |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://b00e8ea91c.clvaw-cdnwnd.com/4fb470e8cbb34a32a0dc1701f8d7322d/200000231-70f2170f24/58-67%20Ionescu%20-%20The%20Descent%20of%20the%20Japanese%20Patriarch%20%E2%80%93%20from%20History%20to%20Literary%20Representations.pdf |
| Summary: | Following the Second World War, Japan plunged into a deep identity crisis. This was
due partly to the shock of being defeated in the war, but mostly to the inability to cope
with the downfall of the Emperor, the Father of the nation, the direct descendant of the
Sun goddess, who had failed to protect them. Kazuo Ishiguro’s first two novels, which
are set in post-war Japan, bring forth this issue through the description of a belittled
father figure, undergoing an identity crisis, trying to re-establish his authority, but
confessing his faults and accepting his condition. The aim of this paper is to identify the
similarities between the fall of the father figure and that of the leader of the Japanese
nation in both Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels, as well as the differences between the
consequences this has had in life and in fiction. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2393-0624 2393-1078 |