Autobiography as Guided Chinatown TourWord文档格式.docx
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Autobiography as Guided Chinatown TourWord文档格式.docx
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sfellowChineseAmericans.AnumberofChinese-AmericancriticshaverepeatedlydenouncedTheWomanWarrior,questioningitsautobiographicstatus,itsauthenticity,itsrepresentativeness,andtherebyKingston'
spersonalintegrity.Thoughoftencouchedintheemotionallycharged,attimesopenlyaccusatory,languagecharacteristicofwhattheChinesecall"
penwars,"
thecriticalissuesraisedinthisdebatearenotmerelyofpassinginterest.Rather,theylieattheheartofanytheoreticaldiscussionofethnicAmericanautobiographyinparticularandethnicAmericanliteratureingeneral.Itwouldthereforebeinstructivetosetoutthetermsofthecontroversyandexploretheirtheoreticalramifications,withaviewtounderstandingthenatureofKingston'
snarrativeenterpriseinTheWomanWarrior.
ThemostfundamentalobjectiontoTheWomanWarriorconcernsitsgenericstatus:
itsbeingbilledasautobiographyratherthanfiction,whensomuchofthebookdepartsfromthepopulardefinitionofautobiographyasanunadornedfactualaccountofaperson'
sownlife.RespondingtoafavorablereviewofthebookbyDianeJohnsonintheNewYorkReviewofBooks,JefferyChannotes[in"
JeffChan,ChairmanofSFStateAsianAmericanStudies,AttacksReview,"
SanFranciscoJournal,May4,1977]how"
awhitereadingpublicwillraveoverethnicbiographywhileignoringaChineseAmerican'
sliteraryart"
andattacksKnopf,"
awhitepublishinghouse,"
for"
distributinganobviousfictionforfact."
ThethrustofChan'
smessageisthattheautobiographicallabelisamarketingployinwhichtheauthor,toherdiscredit,hasacquiesced.Chan'
sstrictureisechoedbyBenjaminTong,whofindsTheWomanWarrior"
obviouslycontrived,"
aworkof"
fictionpassingforautobiography"
["
CriticofAdmirerSeesDumbRacist,"
SanFranciscoJournal,May11,1977].Bywayofcontrast,whiletheunusualgenericstatusofTheWomanWarriorisalsowidelynotedbynon-Chinese-Americancritics,itisseldomcitedaseitheraweaknessoramatterofpersonal,asopposedtoartistic,purpose.
HowfarisKingstonpersonallyresponsibleforthenonfictionlabelonthecoversofTheWomanWarrior?
Accordingtoher,verylittle:
TheonlycorrespondenceIhadwiththepublisherconcerningtheclassification
ofmybookswasthathesaidthatNon-fictionwouldbethemostaccurate
category;
Non-fictionissuchacatch-allthateven"
poetryisconsidered
non-fiction."
Andpoetryissomethinginwhosecompanyshewouldbe"
flattered"
toseeherbooks.Theentiremattermighthaverestedhere--butforsometheoreticalissuesraisedbythecontroversywhichcommandaninterestbeyondthetopical.
AlthoughKingston'
sdetractorsdonotusetheterm,attheheartofthecontroversyisthequestionoffictionalization:
towhatextent"
fictional"
featuresareadmissibleinaworkthatpurportstobeanautobiography.TheChinese-AmericancriticsofTheWomanWarriorfocustheirattentiononthesocialeffectsofadmittingfictionalizationintoanautobiographicalwork.Theirconcern,variouslyworded,issummedupmostconcisely,ifbaldly,byKatherynFong:
IreadyourreferencestomythicalandfeudalChinaasfiction..
..Yourfantasystoriesareembellishedversionsofyourmother'
s
embellishedversionsofstories.Asfiction,thesestoriesarecreatively
writtenwithgraphicimageryandemotion.Theproblemisthatnon-Chinese
arereadingyourfictionastrueaccountsofChineseandChinese
Americanhistory.["
ToMaxineHongKingston:
ALetter,"
Bulletin
forConcernedAsianScholars,Vol.9,No.4,1977]
Thusstated,theWomanWarrior"
problem"
isseentorestultimatelyonthereaders,nottheauthor;
thebasisfordenouncingTheWomanWarriorispragmatic,response-contingent,andreader-specific.Why,then,hasKingstonbeenimplicatedatallinthemisreadingsofheraudience?
Itispossibletorejecttheveryquestionasirrelevant,inthatauthorshavelittlecontroloverhowtheirpublishedworkswillberead.Ontheotherhand,whencriticslikeChan,Tong,orFongholdKingstonresponsibleforherreaders'
failings,theydosofromasetofassumptionsaboutethnicliteraturethataregroundedinakeenawarenessofthesociopoliticalcontextofminorityliterarycreation.Suchanawarenessispreciselywhatismissinginmanywhitereviewers'
remarksonTheWomanWarrior;
moreover,theautobiographicalgenre,withitspromise(perceivedorreal)of"
truthfulness,"
bynatureencouragespreoccupationwithawork'
ssociopoliticalcontext.Thusthechargeofunwarrantedfictionalizationmustbeaddressed.
TheWomanWarriorcanbeconsideredfictionalizedinanumberofways.Onthemostobviousformallevel,itviolatesthepopularperceptionofautobiographyasanorderedshapingoflifeeventsanchoredintheso-calledexternalworld.ItaimsatcreatingwhatJamesOlneycalls"
arealmoforderwhereeventsbeartooneanotherarelationshipofsignificanceratherthanofchronology"
SomeVersionsofMemory/SomeVersionsofBios:
TheOntologyofAutobiography,"
Autobiography:
EssaysTheoreticalandCritical,1980].Accordingtoanearlystudentofthegenre,autobiographiesmustcontain,"
insomemeasure,thegermofadescriptionofthemannersoftheirtimes"
[RoyPascal,DesignandTruthinAutobiography,1960].Althoughrecentscholarshavefoundthereferentialgroundingofautobiographymuchmoreproblematicanditsdefiningessencemuchmoreelusive[e.g.,Olney,"
AutobiographyandtheCulturalMoment:
AThematic,Historical,andBibliographicalIntroduction,"
Autobiography;
ElizabethBruss,AutobiographicalActs:
TheChangingSituationofaLiteraryGenre,1976;
JohnPaulEakin,FictionsinAutobiography:
StudiesintheArtofSelf-Invention,1985],thetermautobiographyusuallydoesevoke,atleastamonggeneralreaders,achronologicallysequencedaccountwithverifiablereferencestoplaces,people,andevents.Asonecriticputsit,inmoreabstruselanguage:
"
Textsboundbytherealinsistuponanepistemologicalstatusdifferentfromworksoftheimaginationinwhichtherealismorenearlyhypothetical"
[ArnoldKrupat,"
TheIndianAutobiography:
Origins,Type,andFunction,"
AmericanLiterature,Vol.53,No.1,1981].Butwhatifthe"
real"
thatanautobiographyisboundbyisthe"
imagination"
oftheprotagonist?
ThisisthethornyproblemofgenericdifferentiationposedbyTheWomanWarrior.
Byanoutwardlyorienteddefinitionofautobiography,TheWomanWarriorisatbestonlynominallyautobiographical:
toborrowaphrasefromPascal,itisawork"
soengrossedwiththeinnerlifethattheouterworldbecomesblurred,"
toldbyanarratorwho,asachild,regularlysees"
freemovies"
on"
blankwalls"
and"
[t]alkstopeoplethataren'
trealinside[her]mind."
Theproseslipsfromthesubjunctivetothedeclarativewithbuttheslightestwarning:
theNoNameWomanstorybeginswithperhaps'
sandcouldhavebeen'
sbutsoondispenseswiththeseremindersofconjecture.Likewise,whiletheFaMuLansegmentin"
WhiteTigers"
isinitiallymarkedasanenumerationofthepossibleanddesirable--"
Thecallwouldcomefromabird....Thebirdwouldcrossthesun....Iwouldbealittlegirlofseven...."
(myitalics)--thebulkofthenarrationisinthesimplepasttense,asifrecountingcompletedeventsintheactualworld.TwodivergentaccountsaregivenofBraveOrchid'
sencounterwiththeSittingGhost,neitherofwhichcouldhavebeendefinitivesincetheevent(orallegedevent)predatesthebirthofthedaughter/narrator."
AttheWesternPalace,"
presentedasadeceptivelyconventional,self-containedshortstory,isrevealedinthenextchaptertobeathird-handfiction.Inshort,thereferentialgroundingofTheWomanWarrioristenuousandpresentedinapotentiallymisleadingmanner.Afewpublicplacesandeventsinthe"
outer"
worldarerecognizablefromwhatweknowaboutauthorKingston'
slife;
allelseisrecollection,speculation,reflection,meditation,imagination.Verifiabilityisvirtuallyoutofthequestioninaworksoself-reflexive.Presumably,then,readerswhodonotpaysufficientattentiontothenarrativeintricaciesofTheWomanWarrior,especiallywhitereaderswithbiasedexpectations,willmistakefictionforfact.
ThecriticsofTheWomanWarrioralsodetectfictionalization—inthesenseof"
makingthingsup"
--inthewayKingstonhaschosentotranslatecertainChineseterms.Acentralexampleisthewordghost,basedonCantonesekueiorgwai,akeyterminthebookappearinginthesubtitleaswellasseveralimportantepisodes.Kingstonrenderskueiasghost.ChanandTong("
CriticofAdmirer"
),whileconcedingthatthecharactercanindeedmean"
ghost"
(asin"
spiritofthedead"
),insistthatitbetranslatedasdemon(ordevil
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