National Chung Cheng University Graduate Institute of Foreign Language and Literature

National Identity in James Joyces Dubliners and Pai Hsien-yungs Taipei People

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts

By Su Yen-chi

Thesis Advisor: Yi-ling Yang November 2009

Acknowledgement I would like to give my greatest gratitude to my thesis advisor, Prof. Yi-ling Yang. She is a teacher with unbelievable patience and always encourages me whenever I find myself stuck in a bottleneck writing my thesis. Moreover, she respects all of my ideas and gives the best suggestions to these ideas. She is to me not just a professor, but also a dear friend. Without her, I would not have finished my thesis with such great happiness in my learning and research. I would like to thank Prof. Yan Yan Hsiao and Prof. Hsin-Ying Lin. Their valuable opinions help me see my blind spots in writing my thesis. I would also like to give special thanks to Prof. Wen-jia You. He helps me see more clearly what responsibility is. Moreover, he gives me the courage to study what I really love in this thesis. Last but not least, I want to thank my parents for incessantly providing me with everything I need without asking anything for return. Their endless love and support help me get through uncountable sleepless nights. I would like to dedicate this thesis to my parents as a small return for their unparalleled love.

Su i

Su ii

Abstract Dublin and Taipei, two cities so distant from each other, have similar experiences of being colonized. Under British control, Dublin was a city full of the subordinates. Since Ireland had no autonomy for its own politics and economy, the British state took all the advantages and resources from its dominion. Thus Dubliners poor economic situation portrayed in Joyces Dubliners reflects the oppression from British colonization, compared with the other better-off Anglo-Irish characters. As for Taipei, it is a city that does not belong to the group of people who were born here and emotionally attached to the place. From the Japanese colonial government to the government emigrating from China, Taiwan had never had the chance to govern itself. In Taipei People, Pai sees and writes about Taiwan that his fellow people rule. Between the lines, Taiwan naturally belongs to the Chinese government even though this government is new to the place. Born and brought up in Taiwan, I find the study of the political stances of different ethnic groups in Taiwan very interesting and meaningful. In this thesis, I will compare and contrast the national identity of the two places with comparable political backgrounds reflected in the two novels. The issue of national identity will be tackled from three aspects. In Chapter One, I start from the entanglement of the race and class to see how national identity varies in different social classes. Then, I intend to compare and contrast the two places experiences of submitting themselves to the rule of powerful immigrants with the discussion of characters in different social classes. In the second chapter on language, I will begin with the language history to examine the meaning and status of different languages for the colonial societies in Ireland and Taiwan. With the background knowledge of these languages, I will study Joyces and Pais language strategies in their texts. In the third chapter Clothing, I would like to examine how the two authors record peoples identification with Ireland and Taiwan from the most conspicuous appearances of

Su iii

their people. In the conclusion, I find that the two authors portray a colonial society from different perspectives because their disparate growing backgrounds affect their political stances and national identification.

Table of Contents

Abstract...ii Introduction1 Chapter One...13 I. II. III. The (Former) Bureaucrats and the Upper Class....16 The Middle Class...28 Lower-Middle and Working Class.34

Chapter Two...46 I. II. III. Language Histories of Ireland and Taiwan46 A Chinese Center in Pais Language Strategy....50 Irish English in Dubliners62

Chapter Three.73 I. II. III. The Definition of Clothing.73 Clothing in Taipei People...76 Clothing in Dubliners..87

Conclusion..98 Works Cited103

Abbreviations

P CW D TP

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man The Critical Works of James Joyce Dubliners Taipei People

Su 1

Introduction The 20th _century Taiwan has often been afflicted by the problem of national identity because of the political turmoil after World War II. Until today, the national identity of Taiwan is still a problem for both the international society and domestic politics. This identity problem was greatly affected by the advent of Chinese political force, KMT (Kuomin Tang, the Nationalist Party), in 1949.1 Under the rule of the immigrant Chinese government, the status of Taiwan and the native Taiwanese had once been subjugated by KMTs emphasis on Chinese past glory and the return to the mainland. As a Taiwanese, I am particularly interested in the way Taiwan is identified and positioned for KMT and those who came with the party. Moreover, it has never occurred to me what the difference is between the life and thoughts of Taiwanese and forty-niners until I read Pai Hsien-yungs Taipei People. With the self-awareness as a Taiwanese and the encounter with Pais novel, I decide that issues on Taiwan should be an important part of my thesis.2 In this thesis, Pais own translation of Taipei People will serve as the authentic source of my arguments. The encounter with Taipei People settles the emphasis of my thesis on the political issues about Taiwan. Reading Pais Taipei People, I find myself exposed to a diasporic emotion and sadness that I have never known before. Born as a native Taiwanese in the 1980s, I am both amazed by and curious about the sentimental part in the life of the forty-niners for their images in the novel are so different from what I

KMT: was a dictatorial political party that used to rule Taiwan as its government. In the later part of my thesis, I will use the abbreviation for its government of Taiwan. 2 forty-niners: According to Stphane Corcuffs study, forty-niners are the Waishengren () who were evacuated from the Mainland China between 1949 and 1955. Waishengren are those who have settled in Taiwan arriving from China from 1945 on (172). This term is opposite to Bensheng-ren, () people who are in this province (Taiwan) and is particularly given to Hoklo people, the major inhabitants in Taiwan. Here I use the term forty-niner instead of Waishengren because the characters in Pais Taipei People refer to those who were evacuated from Mainland, not just those who moved to Taiwan after 1945.

Su 2

have heard from my families and fellow people. According to them, these Mainlanders came to Taiwan only to prepare for the regain of their power in China, and thus Taiwan was exploited for their own use, Taiwanese society strictly controlled and native Taiwanese badly treated as if Taiwan was their colony. However, my picture of the confrontation between Mainlanders and Taiwanese is amended because of Pais detailed portrayal of the way these Mainlanders handle their Chinese past and the way they look at Taiwan, Taiwanese and their own future on the island. Moreover, the characters nostalgic mood reminds me that I have never cared to think of how they would feel bearing the heavy and distant Chinese memories on them. In Taipei People, what really surprises me is that the Taipei city in their stories seems to be so different in their eyes and unfamiliar to the one that I have ever known. From the difference between what I have heard from my family and seen in Taipei People, I realize that the two groups of people can be so distant and strange to each other under two distinct political stances, even if they are so close and live with each other on the same small island. As a member of this island, I find the study of the political stances of different groups in Taiwan very interesting and meaningful. Apart from the complex political environment of Taiwan reflected in Taipei People, James Joyces Dubliners surprises me with his undisguised presentation of Dubliners paralysis in the Irish society colonized by British empire. With Joyces portrayal, Britains oppressive rule of Ireland is vividly shown. Among the reflection of British oppression and Irish paralysis in Dubliners, I am amazed to read another side of a colonial society, which is different from the one perceived in Taipei People. Before her independence in 1922, the complexity of the political situation in Ireland and the exploitation over the native Irish under the British rule were very close to what the native Taiwanese had experienced under KMTs regime. However, Joyces focus on the native Irishs life and thoughts in Dubliners becomes a contrast to Pais

Su 3

center on the Chinese immigrants in Taipei People. This makes it worthwhile to make comparison and contrast between Irish and Taiwanese society portrayed in the two novels. Moreover, since both Joyce and Pai treat the life of the people in a city as an epitome of its nation, I find it interesting to study their texts comparatively about how they and their characters think of and identify with their nation. One reason for the worthiness to discuss national identity in the two novels is that Joyces Ireland and Pais Taiwan were both in pursuit of national sovereignty or independence in their time. In The Study of National Identity, Natividad Gutirrez talks about how theories of nationalism have great influence over the study of national identity. He mentions that one unmistakable attribute in theories of nationalism is the ideal of independence (Gutirrez 4). For Gutirrez, national identity is closely related to this ideal. Lynn Williams also points out in National identity and the Nation State, The ultimate goal of nationalist movements is to make the nation and the state co-extensive. In other words, as they become conscious of their national identity, nations almost claim the right to govern themselves. (Williams 7) The seeking for the congruence of national identity and the independent state can also be found in the political situation in the early 20th_ century Ireland and Taiwan after 1949. Due to the complex colonial background of the two islands, the early 20th century Ireland and Taiwan after 1949 were both experiencing disputable national status and thus suffered from questioned national identity. For Ireland of the early 20th century, although it has been colonized by British government for more than seven centuries, the British colonization never really eliminates the Irishs identification with their own Irish nation. During the 1890s and in the first decade of the twentieth-century, the urge for Irish Ireland can be found in the organization of

Su 4

several cultural circles such as Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language (1876), the Gaelic Union (1880), the Gaelic Athletic Association (1884), the Gaelic League (1893), and Cumann na nGaedheal (1893).3 Joyce also describes Irishs thirst for independence in his works. In Dubliners, Joyce uses many allusions to Irish, such as the Ivy leaf in Ivy Day in the Committee Room and the Irish goodbye on Mrs. Kerneys lips in A Mother, to imply the characters support of Irish nationalism. Such connection between national identification and the unstable national status can be also found in Pais Taipei People. In Pais time, Taiwan was facing the tremendous change in its national status. Shortly after the return from Japan to China in 1945, Taiwan was soon landed by the exilic government of Chiang Kai-shek.4 The people who came with this government identified with their Chinese political party, KMT, and the hope for their future return to Mainland. Pais portrayal of these peoples strong national identification with the past China not only shows their intense attempt to regain the political influence in China but also reveals the sorrowful position of Taiwan that has to unconditionally provide support for these diasporic Chinese who even belittle Taiwan. From Pais Taipei People and Joyces Dubliners, one finds the comparability in the national identity of the both politically unstable Taiwan and Ireland. However, what exactly is national identity, or what is the condition that determines ones national identity? Many scholars have different definitions about the term. Natividad Gutirrez gives a short and straightforward description of national identity, the self-identification of the peoples of nation-states (7). David Miller mentions five aspects of national identity, including shared belief, historical continuity, active identity, a particular territory and national character (22-27). Keith Cameron
3

See Multitext Project in Irish History, ed. Toms O'Riordan. History Department, University College Cork. April 15th 2009 http://multitext.ucc.ie/d/Irish_Ireland 4 Chiang Kai-shek: the leader of KMT.

Su 5

also brings up a wide-ranged but indefinite statement about national identity, Not only historians but the Churches, the political parties, and the various media can all play an important part in forming national identity and can in turn be associated in our minds with our national identity (Cameron 2). For Homi Bhabha, national identity has hybrid nature. He believes the national self is constructed in relation to the Other, or the significant outsider. He values the importance of the outsider and stranger in defining group identity and suggests that all collective identity is hybridized and fragmented (Smith 22-3). Benedict Anderson considers that nations and national identities are self-defined. For Anderson, national identity can be apprehended through the analysis of the narratives and images of those who represent the imagined community to others (Smith 23). In other words, national identity is self-defined because it is, for Anderson, a kind of communal imagination collected and formed through novels and newspapers. These various explanations and definitions on the term national identity reflect what Lynn Williams points out in the beginning of her article, there is no generally accepted view of what constitutes nationality or national identity (7). Although there is no general agreement about the definition of national identity, it does not mean that the study on national identity is meaningless or useless. Instead, one can find more different explanations in the studies on the topic of political contexts. As for James Joyces Dubliners and Pai Hsien-yungs Taipei People, I am particularly interested in how national identity is shown in these three aspectsclass, language and clothing culture. What follows first is my research on relative topic about the two novels. Then, I would like to talk about my reasons for my study on the national identity despite others works on the relative theme. Joyces views on Irish politics and nationalism and the problem of national identification have been touched on by some critics in the late 20th -century. Vincent J.

Su 6

Cheng is one of the most famous scholars in this field. His book Joyce, Race and Empire, discusses the postcolonial features in Joyces works. Chengs analysis of the psychology of Joyces colonized characters, such as Jimmy Doyle in After the race or Corley in Two Gallants, reveals the problematic national identity in these gratefully oppressed role models in Dubliners. Other similar discussion on Joyces politics can be found in Colin MacCabes and Joseph Valentes books. MacCabe in his James Joyce and the Revolution of the Word discusses the connection between Joyces criticism on Irish nationalism and European politics. Valente in James Joyce Studies analyzes Joyces suspicion or even dissent for Irish identity-politics and Irish nationalism. Apart from these scholars, there are still other articles on Joyces view on Irish nationalism, and on the influences upon Irish politics and the Irish national identity. Douglas Kanter in Joyce, Irish Paralysis, and Cultural Nationalist Anticlericalism expounds the Irish political background in Joyces time, and analyzes Joyces attitude toward the national identity affected by Catholicism and Irish nationalism. In Chuang Kun-liangs () two articles Waiting for Phoenix: the Irish Election and Colonialism in Ivy Day in Committee Room and The Parable of the Plums: Postcolonial Joyce and Irish Literary Revival, Chuang discusses how Joyce criticizes the way Irish people are blind to the narrow-minded Irish nationalism and the ethnocentric national identity. In these articles, Chuang has drawn on Antonio Gramscis theory of hegemony to examine how hegemony is constructed in Irish society and the way identification is manipulated to consolidate this hegemony in Irish colonization. From my study of the books and articles mentioned above, I find that these scholars have focused on Joyces politics and probed into the issue of Irish nationalism and national identity without comparison with other works on the similar topic. As for the studies on the politics and national identity in Pais Taipei People,

Su 7

there is relatively less study because of Pais cautious treatment of politics in the strict political milieu in his time. Wong Yoon Wah is one of the few critics that touch on the postcolonial feature in Pais Taipei People.5 Wong analyzes the historical background of the book and puts it into the postcolonial context. In his analysis, one can find the words such as Taiwan and Mainland have become the main line that demarcates the characters from one another in Taipei People. With this demarcation, the problem of the characters national identification stands out. The discussions on national identity and the Chinese exile are relatively more in journals. In Fu-Ling Yangs article, Yang adopts psychological analysis and discusses how the characters in Taipei People have difficulties in their change of nation and identity.6 In Jian Zhengzhens and Lin Xingqians articles, both authors discuss Pais writing of the political predicament and the lost identity of the Chinese exile in Taiwan.7 One can also read the negation and the absence of Taipei from the eyes of these exilic Taipei people in Mei Chia-Lings article (60-1).8 In regard to the topic of the thesis, some researchers in Taiwan have studied the theme of national identification. About Joyces Dubliners, Chang Miao-jung has drawn on the theories of Jacques Lacan and Homi K. Bhabha to discuss the Irish subjectivity and identity in her thesis Representing Subjectivity and Irish Identity in James Joyces Dubliners.9 In her work, Chang examines the colonization in Joyces Ireland and concludes that the Irish have internalized the colonizers value and thus

5 6

Wong Yoon Wah: See 2004 Fu-Ling Yang : See 2005 131-149 7 Jian Zhengzhen: See 2621997 7 67-89and 9 5199310 27-30 8 Mei Chia-Ling: See 20017302 59-81 9 Chang Miao-jung: See 1997

Su 8

are unable to make stable and certain of their true national identification. In Lu Li-Rus Toward a National Literature? Colonialism and Modernism in James Joyce Dubliners, she discusses Joyces ideas about the reasons for the Irish colonial status. For Joyce, Catholicism and Irish nationalism should also be responsible for the Irish self-colonization, in addition to the English colonizer. As for the theses on the national identity in Pais Taipei People, Pengs and Yang Chia-Hsiens works have discussed the connections between the historical background and identifications.10 In his thesis, Peng examines the effect that the change of time and space can leave to the individual and then analyzes national identification of Pais characters. Moreover, Yang points out that the historical/political changes force the Chinese exile to reconstruct their past in Taipei, which is destined to be a failure because Taipei would never be like home to these people even if it can be rebuilt like one. Their lingering cultural identification with China is the main factor in their confusing national identity. From the books, articles and theses mentioned above, one finds that the two novels have something comparable in their both complex political background and the way the identification exists as a problem; however, few studies focus on the comparison of this part in the two works. The only thesis that I find on the comparison of the two novels is Chang Shuei-mays thesis, but it mainly compares their literary genre, instead of the political issue of national identity.11 The other article on the comparison of the two novels is Lu Cheng-huis work.12 Lu, however, also compares and contrasts the writing technique of the two authors regarding the description of story details and characters psychology. Apart from Chengs thesis and Lus article,
10

Peng: See 2004and / 2005 11 Chang Shuei-may: See 1986 12 Lu Cheng-hui: See 1041987 95-101

Su 9

one seldom finds other works that make comparison of the two novels, let alone the works that compare and contrast the presentation of national identity in Dubliners and Taipei People. In this case, I think it would be contributive if I study how national identity is presented similarly or differently in Ireland and Taiwan, where people have experienced political disturbance and colonization. To discuss national identity, I would like to tackle the problem in my later chapters with some theorists ideas. In the first chapter, Antonio Gramscis argument on hegemony will be considerably used for my comparison between the colonial societies in Joyces Ireland and Pais Taiwan. Also, I will use Gramscis argument to examine the postcolonial features and the effects of the features upon the issue of national identity in two works. In the same chapter, I will also refer to Benedict Andersons work Imagined Communities and Ernest Renans famous lecture What is a Nation? to look on the problem of national definitions in the discussion of national identification. As for the diasporic issue in Taipei People, I will resort to James Cliffords Diasporas and other scholars ideas such as Susheila Nasta, Stuart Hall, Salman Rushdie, and William Safran in diasporic discourse to see how diaspora can have influences on national identity. In Chapter Two, Homi Bhabhas idea about the relation between mimicry and the colonial power will be used to examine how the lever between the colonizer and the colonized is balanced and shown in Joyces language strategy. Furthermore, I will also draw on Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattaris idea of minor literature to analyze the Irish elements in Joyces english writing. In the third chapter, I will consult Diana Crane, Fred Davis and Susan B. Kaiser and Georg Simmels fashion theories to see how Joyce and Pai make their characters wear their national identity. In this thesis, I will compare and contrast how national identity is presented in Dubliners and Taipei People from three main aspects that are respectively the titles of

Su 10

the three chapters, Class, Language and Clothing. There are reasons for my study on these three subjects. Firstly, I consider that the examination of the class structure presented in the two novels will help to see how the two colonized societies work and how their people identify with the groups or the nation they belong to. As for my second topic, I believe the language strategies of the two authors can manifestly show or express their attitudes toward the politically unbalanced societies they are in. Thus this leaves room for the discussion of the authors and their characters definition of and identification with their nations. Last but not least, I observe the dressing style that the two authors put onto their characters to examine their national identity shown from the characters dresses. With the examination of these three subjects, I could obtain a clearer concept of the national identities of James Joyce and Pai Hsien-yung. In the first chapter, I start from the entanglement of the race and class to see how national identity varies in different social classes. In this discussion, I would like to show how the racial problem can have impact on the distribution of social classes. Also in this chapter, I intend to compare and contrast the two places experiences in submitting themselves to the rule of powerful immigrants with the discussion of characters in different social classes. For the different classes in two works, their living condition and national identity are closely connected with the governments attitude and policy in ruling Ireland or Taiwan. With this, I would like to show how national identity differs with their disparate political positions and social status. To study the people of different social classes in Dubliners and Taipei People, I will categorize the characters in the two works into three types according to the classes to which they belong. They are the (former) bureaucrats and the upper class, the middle class, and the lower-middle and working classes. In the second chapter on language, I will begin with the language history to

Su 11

examine the meaning and status of different languages for the colonial societies in Ireland and Taiwan. With the background knowledge of these languages, I will study Joyces and Pais language strategies in their novels. By looking into the way the two authors arrange different languages in stories, I consider that the political stance and the national identity of Joyce and Pai can be reflected. I divide this chapter into three parts. Apart from the first part about the language history, the second and the third are respectively A Chinese Center in Pais Language Strategy and Irish English in Dubliners. In the second section, I will study Pais use of Mandarin and other dialects and find a Chinese center that Pai constructs in his stories. With this Chinese center, one can see how Pai recognizes and identifies with Chinese culture as well as the Chinese political force in Taiwan. In the third part, I will start from Joyces attitude to Irish language and English to analyze his observation on Irish peoples difficult language choice over English and Irish. Deleuze and Guattaris definition of minor literature will be helpful to read Joyces language strategy. Lastly, I refer to Homi Bhabhas idea about mimicry in colonization to study Joyces manipulation of language. Joyces and Pais different stances in their language use will be compared and contrasted in the end. In the third chapter Clothing, I would like to examine how the two authors record peoples identification with the society in Ireland and Taiwan from the most conspicuous appearances of their people. In addition, as clothing reflects or expresses various social background and social meanings dressed on the characters, I would like to study the clothing details in the two novels to evidence my observation in the previous two chapters of Class and Language. In the first part, I start with the definition of clothing and discuss the cultural or national meaning of clothing. Then, I go into the way people are dressed in Taipei People, how their dressing code signifies the Chinese center in the previous chapter and how their garments show the

Su 12

social structure in a colonial society and manifest characters and the authors national identification. In the third part, I will discuss Joyces use of clothing. From the clothing difference in disparate classes in Irish society, one finds Dubliners different attitudes toward their own social class and their identification with Irish nation under the influence of British hegemony. Their attitudes are shown from their choices of clothing, and these choices could be radical loving for the Irish nation, opportunistic in personal interests or identification with the British state. In the conclusion, I will summarize my comparison and contrast of national identities in Dubliners and Taipei People. Although both have the colonial backgrounds, the societies in Ireland and Taiwan are presented quite differently by the authors who hold disparate political stances and national identification. As a son of a commander who followed KMTs retreat to Taiwan, Pai reveals his identification with Chinese culture and political identity in the stories, while Joyce, born as a native Irish, profoundly feels the pain of being a Catholic Irish and carrying the wavering national identity under the British colonization. From these three subjects, class, language and clothing, I have compared and contrasted the national identities presented in Joyces Dubliners and Pais Taipei People. However, national identity can also be revealed in the aspects of religion, music, or food. Limited by the length of the thesis, I have to choose from these subjects and decide what I consider to be the most interesting and also directly connects and reflects the issue of national identity. In this light, there must be some other subjects to be left out in this thesis. I am aware of this unavoidable omission and consider it a pity that I cannot cover most of the subjects about national identity. Hopefully, further study can be done on these subjects that I have not touched on in this thesis.

Su 13

Chapter One: Class The immigration of people with a different ethnicity or culture causes the political and cultural complexities in Ireland and Taiwan. It also causes the inequality of political and social status between new residents and local people in two places. Both Ireland and Taiwan used to be governed by a foreign political power, and this rule has diverse significance to the two authors with different background. For Joyce, the British rule is equal to colonization. For Pai Hsien-yung, the rule of Chiang Kai-sheks government is legitimate. Their different attitudes toward the foreign power result from their personal background and national identification. Since the immigration of another group usually brings forth racial issues and the consequent class problems, I will start from the viewpoints of the two writers toward the racial issue and see how their views influence their approach to the class problem in their works. As George J. Watson points out, Joyce is highly aware of the colonial, and hence subordinate, status of Ireland while Yeats, an Anglo-Irish, is free of the natives disabling and self-lacerating sense of Irish cultural inferiority (158). Despite his awareness of racial difference and discrimination in Ireland, Joyce holds a tolerant attitude toward the ethnic diversities caused by invasions of different ethnic groups, such as Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon. In a speech made in Trieste, Ireland, Island of Saints and Sages, he recognizes the fact that Ireland was a nation composed of various ethnic groups: Our civilization is a vast fabric, in which the most diverse elements are mingled, in which Nordic aggressiveness and Roman law, the new bourgeois conventions and the remnant of a Syriac religion are reconciled. In such a fabric, it is useless to look for a thread that may have remained pure and virgin without having undergone the influence of a neighboring thread. What

Su 14

race, or what language (if we except the few whom a playful will seems to have preserved in ice, like the people of Iceland) can boast of being pure today? (CW 165-6) Joyce is aware that Irish history has been entangled with racial issue and that it is inevitable to face the problem. Since Ireland had been the home for the Celtic as well as the Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon and Norman races, it would be difficult for each group to remain pure and unaffected by other groups (CW 161). Although Joyce does not think that Ireland could stand as a nation that is exclusively Gaelic-Irish, he does not neglect the social and cultural problems generated from the racial issue. In Dubliners, Joyce has given thoughts on the racial issue and carefully arranged the background of each character to reflect the oppression in the Irish society caused by racial discriminations. In many stories, Joyce hints his opinion about the racial issue by connecting English with the image of an oppressive ruler and Irish people with drunkards living on pawnshops. As the English are the ruler and occupy higher social classes, the subordinate, who are mostly Gaelic-Irish, have to stay in the lower or the worst one and lead a needy life. The nature of colonization can be thus revealed from the inseparable relationship between race and social class. In the following, I would like to examine the characters portrayed in different social classes to see the distribution of power in Irish society. In this way, the relationship between peoples national identity and social status in Joyces Irish society can be analyzed. Taiwan is also a society consisting of different ethnic groups of people. Although these groups do not belong to different races, their living style, background and dialects of different regions divide them and even make them hostile to one another as if they belonged to different ethnic groups. Already an immigrant society before 1949, Taiwan had a great population of Han Chinese people, which can be subdivided into

Su 15

mainly two different tribes: Hoklo and Hakka. In 1949 right after the end of World War Two, many social elites followed the leadership of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to Taiwan, a nearby island that they took as a base for the regain of the lost power in China after Chinese Communist Party defeated KMT.13 When Japan was forced to end its colonization in Taiwan after the Second World War, KMT took its place. As a son of a military commander in KMT, Pai had witnessed the transference of government and experienced the pain of being forced to leave his hometown. In Taipei People, what Pai sees from these forty-niners is their nostalgia for their hometown in China. Therefore, in this work, readers will not be surprised to find that, for a writer who has gone through an involuntary migration, Pai writes mainly about forty-niners who moved to Taipei and mostly lived a nostalgic life, rather than about those who were under colonial rule as Joyce does in Dubliners. 14 The racial issue in Taiwan is complicated since those who are called the native are the aboriginal tribes. In contrast to the majority who are Han Chinese in origin, the natives are relatively minor in population and political influence. As for the forty-niners and Bensheng-ren15, the great difference in their life style and historical background makes them distinct from each other, although they belong to the same race and were both immigrants from mainland China. After fifty years of Japanese colonization, Bensheng-rens value and living standard were closer to those of Japanese. When forty-niners moved to Taiwan and became the ruling class, their aim of fighting back to China affected the way they ruled and identified with Taiwan. In this light, we can see how the historical context influences Pais approach to the classes along with their national identification. In this chapter, I intend to compare and contrast the two places colonial
13 14 15

KMT: see footnote 1 in Introdution. Forty-niner: See footnote 2 in Introduction in Page 1. See footnote 2 in Introduction in Page 1.

Su 16

experiences under the rule of powerful immigrants from the aspect of class. In different classes of people in the two works, their lifestyle and identification are closely connected with the governments attitude and policy in ruling Ireland or Taiwan. Comparing and contrasting the two works, I would like to show how national identity differs with the political positions and social status. Here I divide the classes into three types, the (former) bureaucrats and the upper class, the middle class, and the lower and the working classes. Although mobility in classes is also one of the most important phenomena in the discussion of social classes, such as Gallahers advance toward the middle class in Dubliners and the bossy ladys falling to the working class in Taipei People, I still fix my main topics on the three social classes for the convenience of discussion.16 I. The (Former) Bureaucrats and the Upper Class: This class includes the characters who work or have worked for the government and those who live a wealthy life. The reason why I categorize them as one type is that they share similar life style and have frequent contact with each other. With power and wealth, these people are engaged in constructing what Gramsci calls hegemony in the colonial society of Ireland and Taiwan. In this process of construction, what kind of national identification do they show? I would like to probe into the question from their backgrounds and strategy in constructing the hegemony. In Joyces Dubliners, most characters are from the lower-middle class and the bureaucrats are indirectly mentioned. Comparatively, Pais Taipei People contains more characters who live a better life or work for the government. Thus I would like to begin with Pais work. Pai once suggests in The Sixth Finger that the new generation of writers in

16

Bossy lady: a character in Glorys by Blossom Bridge in Taipei People.

Su 17

Taiwan uses characters life experience as the metaphor of his countrys fate (111).17 This can also be applied to his work. In Taipei People, the forty-niners experience the wartime turbulence and displacement. Their life stories signify the fate of their country. The title Taipei People in a way reflects their dislocation in Taiwan. Moreover, it also reveals Pais disregard of the real Taipei peoples life in Taipei. The forty-niners dislocation is an embarrassment to KMTs rule in Taiwan as it has left Mainland China and still claims itself to be the righteous regime of it. In the 1949s Chinese immigrants, many people were officials, lawmakers, high-ranking generals and other social elites ( 148).18 These people came to Taiwan and occupied the upper rank of Taiwanese social class. However, in the novel, the group of Taiwanese intellectuals is, wittingly or not, absent from Pais portrait, either in the upper, the middle or the lower classes. His disregard of Taiwanese intellectuals can be seen as the metaphor or reflection of KMTs attitude and the way it rules the local residents in Taiwan. In Taipei People, the most obvious trace of KMTs hegemonic rule is its definition of history and its policy on historical education. For those who work in the bureaucratic system in Taiwan, they have similar past. All of them have fought for the Republic of China (R.O.C) in the mainland. Their identification with R.O.C followed them to Taiwan after KMT was defeated and had to retreat. After KMT came to Taiwan and became the new government, it brought new definition of history. Instead of the sacrifice that Taiwanese made for Japanese, the glorious deeds of those who fought for R.O.C were made national history in Taiwan.19 This kind of education is close to a means used in constructing hegemony, a concept Antonio Gramsci brought up in Prison Notebooks. Gramsci believes that the rulers power can be
17 18 19

My translation. Ibid. China and Japan were opponents in World War II.

Su 18

maintained if the consent of the dominated can be obtained through education and through other kinds of cultural labor(673).20 Anne Showstack Sassoon explains, Gramsci argues throughout his work that an integral state can only be founded if a class enjoys hegemony before it achieves state power. All this implies widespread popular consent (quoted in Bocock, 32). For KMT, this education is a good way to solidify the national identification and maintain its political status as the ruling class of R.O.C. Moreover, it can modify Taiwaneses enslaved thought after fifty years of Japanese domination ( 33).21 The story New Years Eve [] shows how the hegemony of KMT is worked in Taiwan. Lai is a retired military commander who followed KMT to Taiwan. At the beginning of the story, he arrived at Major Lius for the New Year party. In the party, there are other guests, Cousin Li-chu and Yu Hsin, at the table. Lai used to fight in the big wars for the survival of R.O.C in China. He became a cook after his retirement in Taiwan. Although he moves to Taiwan, Lai apparently identifies himself with R.O.C in mainland China, rather than that in Taiwan. Taiwan is just a place where he can stay until the time when the army can fightback to Szechwan [] one day (TP 108). Lais past subordinate, Major Liu, used to be an orderly in China. After the transference of the regime, he is given a military job as a major by KMT in Taiwan. This shows that after moving to Taiwan, not only the individual but also the old government still holds the controlling power as a ruler. Moreover, Lius respect for Lai stands for the attitude of the government. Lais deed is honorable because what he did in the war time was advantageous to the survival and establishment of KMT back in China. Therefore, when Lai was showing his scar to prove his contribution in

20

This is quoted from: Gramsci, Antonio. Hegemony. Ed. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004. 673. 21 Enslaved: the Japanese education in Taiwan was considered by KMT as the enslaved education .

Su 19

the Battle of Taierhchuang [], Yu Hsin, a military student, was surprised at Lais participation in a great battle in the history, and paid his respect by saying, That battle was truly the glory of our National Army (TP 102)! For Yu Hsin, the war that Lai participated in China is the huge national incident for people in Taiwan. Here, one should notice that the school education teaches the history which has little to do with Taiwans own past.22 As Yu Hsin responses to Lais historical deed, Last week in our lectures on the War of Resistance against Japan the instructor happened to talk about the Battle of Taierhchuang (italics added, TP 100). The battle against Japan in China becomes teaching material in school. Staying in the ruling-class in Taiwan, KMT has the political power to claim their history in China to be the national history for Taiwan. As Michel Foucault points out in his Discipline and Punish, power-knowledge, and of which it is made up, that determines the forms and possible domains of knowledge (Foucault 1991, 28). In other words, power decides what should be known and learned. Thus education becomes another representation of political force. Through education, KMT successfully makes the battle between Japan and R.O.C in China, which happened when Taiwan still belonged to Japan, become the National Armys glory in Taiwan. In this way, the rule of KMT is consolidated by the temperate propaganda. Hegemony of this rule in Taiwanese society is thus gradually constructed. Apart from the hegemonic rule of the new government, there is another issue, the diasporic emotions, that the forty-niners bring to Taiwan. As Salman Rushdie says, the yearning for home is common humanity; Lai and other forty-niners sense of loss and the yearning for the past are understandable diasporic reaction after they came to Taiwan (Rushdie 12). According to James Clifford, the term diaspora can be applied
22

Taiwans own past: At the time when the battle of Taierhchuang happened, Taiwan was Japans colony. Therefore, strictly speaking, Taiwan was on the opposing side against China and the history of the battle should be that of an enemy.

Su 20

to those who are immigrants, expatriates, refugees, guest-workers, exile communities, overseas communities, and ethnic communities (Clifford 303). Clifford points out that diaspora is different from travel because it is not temporary but involves dwelling, maintaining communities, and having collective homes away from home (307-8). He also mentions William Safrans definition and reactions of diasporic people: expatriate minority communities (1) that are dispersed from an original center to at lease two peripheral places; (2) that maintain a memory, vision, or myth about their original homeland; (3) that believe they are notand perhaps cannot befully accepted by their host country; (4) that see the ancestral home as a place of eventual return, when the time is right; (5) that are committed to the maintenance or restoration of this homeland; and (6) of which the groups consciousness and solidarity are importantly defined by this continuing relationship with the homeland (qtd. in Clifford 304-5) This statement can define most types of diasporas in the world. Due to the political complexities between forty-niners and Taiwan, what they have experienced does not conform to every single item but the second, fourth, fifth and sixth in Safrans definition. As these forty-niners share the common experience of wartime turmoil, cherish their hometown memories in China, believe that they will someday return, and restore their substitute homeland in Taiwan, these symptoms have made them diasporic. From Pais characters who can afford to restore in Taiwan everything they had in China, one can see how they lay their diasporic affections on a person, a certain kind of flower or a reminiscent party. This is the homing desire in diasporic sentiments. As Susheila Nasta notes, it is a desire to reinvent and rewrite home as much as a desire to come to terms with an exile from it (7). In Eternal Snow Beauty [

Su 21

], this homing desire is reflected on the way Yin Hsueh-yen decorates her new house in Taipei and how she signifies the eternal Shanghai. Yin Hsueh-yen was very popular in Shanghais Paramount Ballroom a dozen years ago and still had the same charm as a woman after she moved to Taipei. However the affairs of men fluctuated, Yin Hsueh-yen remained forever Yin Hsueh-yen, the Snow Beauty of Shanghai fame (TP 2). With the air of everlastingness that stays on her, Yin Hsueh-yen becomes a symbol of eternal homeland for those who share the same experience of being forced out to Taiwan, Snow Beautys soon became a gathering place for old friends and new acquaintances. When her old friends came, they spoke of times gone by. In a nostalgic mood they talked of the good old days and poured out their pent-up feelings before Snow Beauty as if she were an eternal symbol of the Paramount days, a living witness to the luxuries of their Shanghai life. (italics added, TP 10) The desire for reconstructing their good old days in Shanghai and the unchangeable beauty of Snow Beauty make these people crazy about Yin Hsueh-yen. In her new house in Taipei, Yin Hsueh-yen decorates it with a style that never falls below the impressive standards of Avenue Joffre in Shanghai (TP 14). People who go to her place can always recapture their past life-style and luxury. There they play mah-jong and ua-hua, have luxurious Nanking and Shanghai dishes, and feel again their previous glory by Yin Hsueh-yens greeting them with their past titles.23 Similar diasporic mood of the upper class are found in the stories Autumn Reveries [] and Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream []. In Autumn Reveries, Madame Huas life in Taiwan is an example of life symbolically transplanted from China. Madame Hua used to plant Handful-of-Snows
23

Mah-jong [] and ua-hua []: they are two Chinese games.

Su 22

in her previous garden in Nanking City. 24 After moving to Taiwan, she still has Handful-of-Snows in her garden. These Chrysanthemums remind her of her past husband, a general who fought for the Republic of China. The flower represents not only her memories for her husband, but her longing for the past life with him in Nanking. Hua plants the same type of flower to preserve the most valuable thing in her life. With these flowers, living in Taiwan would be less painful but just an extension of her old lifestyle. In Wandering in the Garden, the party thrown at Tou villa in Taipei by Madame Tou has all the arrangements and activities similar to previous parties held in China to cater to the tastes of her guests. Thus there are Shanghai dishes, drinking Huatiao, and replaying Kunshan opera in the party (TP 356).25 The palatial villa and splendid decoration even carry these people back to the time when they were in China. For these people who have experienced the forced displacement, they are obliged to deal with fragments of their memories, as Salman Rushdie points out in Imaginary Homelands (11). In a foreign country, those who try to reclaim their past life or culture in hometown from memories can never recall the totality of it. Thus, these memories must be fragmentations; fragmentation, Rushdie notes, makes trivial things seem like symbols (12). This explains why people gather in Yin Hsueh-yens new dwelling decorated in Shanghai style and why Handful-of-Snows are again planted in Madame Huas garden in Taipei. Certain way of decoration or some kind of flower has been turned into the symbolic token of their homeland in China for these people. With no sense of identification with Taiwan, these peoples national identification is with R.O.C in mainland China, which has already become an imagined nation. It has no substantial existence from the moment they retreated

24 25

Handful-of-Snows: a kind of Chrysanthemums. Huatiao: a name of Chinese liquor: ; Kunshan opera: a kind of Chinese opera:

Su 23

from the mainland. The inexistent nation that still collects the beliefs of these people conforms to what Ernest Gellner points out in Thought and Change, Nationalism is not the awakening of nations to self-consciousness: it invents nations where they do not exist (qtd. in Anderson, 6). R.O.C in mainland China is imagined not only because it has no existence but also because it is set by the ruling class to exist in the mind of the forty-niners and the educated Taiwanese.26 This kind of national identity is essentially problematic because they will never find a realistic nation with which they identify and thus are destined to be disappointed. Although Pais tone in these stories may suggest his sympathy toward this imagined nation, his naming of those who claim themselves to be pure Chinese as Taipei People is most ironic for their ambiguous national identity. As Taiwan was ruled by a foreign political power, Ireland was also governed by Britain before the twentieth century. In the eighteenth century, Dublin withdrew from the prosperity after the removal of the parliament in Dublin to Westminster in the nineteenth century. What it later experienced was English exploitation, economic difficulties which resulted from its own fragile economic nature, such as lacking productive industrial base, and the British colonization. Moreover, the Great Famine in the mid-1840s even made the situation worse. The serious economic problems caused the high rate of unemployment in Dublin. Under such difficult circumstances, the distribution of social class can illustrate the economic situation of Ireland under British colonization. Although Ireland and Taiwan share similar experiences of being dominated by a foreign political force, Joyces perspective about Ireland is totally different from Pais. Unlike Pais understanding of the dominator in Taiwan, Joyce tries to reflect the
26

The educated Taiwanese: the word educated does not mean well-learned but taught. The educated Taiwanese refers to those who are taught to believe that their country is still R.O.C in mainland China.

Su 24

selfishness of the colonizer and the paralysis of the colonized. He is on the opposite position against Pai with regard to their perspective on the essence of colonization and the colonizers power. In Dubliners, Joyce focuses on Irishmen and women in the lower-middle or working class. People in the upper class or bureaucrat system are relatively minor in the stories. From few examples of people in the upper class, Joyce shows his distaste for the complicity between these people and the British Empire. In the stories about the upper class in Dubliners, the powerful are devoted to the construction of hegemony as those in Taipei People. Hegemony, as Gramsci argues, is a combination of consent and coercion and is practiced in political, cultural, and economic domains. For Gramsci, Spontaneous consent [is] given by the great masses of the population to the general direction imposed on social life by the dominant fundamental group; this consent is historically caused by the prestige (and consequent confidence) which the dominant group enjoys because of its position and function in the world of production. (italics added, Forgacs 306-7) In other words, the consent of the dominated has much to do with the economic power of the dominant group. The consent can be gained through the economic control because this economic control is based on the ideology that people need money to sustain their life and desire. The desire to make money is not natural but constructed by ideology, especially through mass media. With this means, British government is able to control Irish peoples need and satisfaction, which hastens Britains exploitation and gives it the greatest profits. In contrast to the educational means in Pais work, Joyce shows the hegemony constructed by the dominators control of Irish economy and mass media in the story After the Race. In After the Race, the police, the representative of British political power in Irish society, make use of their economic control to alter an Irish Nationalist and to

Su 25

gain the consent of this businessman. In the story, Jimmy Doyles father is a businessman who was once an advanced Nationalist but modified his views early (D 30). What closely follows is another description about his being fortunate enough to secure some of the police contracts and that he thus makes a big fortune (30). This passage suggests that the police make business contract with Jimmys father because he has modified his nationalistic view. This kind of economic control is common in Joyces time. In order to maintain or consolidate its rule over Ireland, the British government controlled Irish society by protecting the power and social classes of Protestants, the English descendents. Only this group of people, such as the police, can occupy the upper class of Irish society, have the British rulers power to allot the economic resources and thus control the need of Irish people as Jimmys father. As Terence Brown points out in Introduction of Dubliners, people who own their profession in upper class are mostly Protestants, immigrants from Britain: It was they [Protestants] who constituted the upper levels of society in Dublin and who largely controlled entry to the major professions of Law and Medicine (Brown, 21-2). Brown also points out this phenomenon in the same essay, The population of Dublin in the first decade of this [20th] century was about 17% Protestant while the rest was Catholic. That Protestant minority included the ruling elite whose loyalty to the union between Ireland the Great Britain was unquestioned and certainly understandable since the union protected their own positioning a strikingly inequitable social order. (Brown, 21) Under the circumstances that the upper class of Irish society was occupied by Protestants, Joyce implies that the fortune of Jimmys father is closely related to the modification of his attitude to national identity and his catering to the value of British government. Thus the fact is hinted by Joyce that the police, representative of people

Su 26

in the upper class, had access to a great many economic resources. In this light, the British governments control and exploitation over both politics and economy of Ireland is obvious. Just as Robert L. Heilbroner points out in Marxism: For and Against, capital maintains superiority by constantly renewing and expanding its accumulation of capitalthe very enforcement agency of its power over labor (Heilbroner, 118). That is to say, once British state holds capital or related resources tightly, it holds the power to its colony. In addition to economic control, mass media is another way for British government to have influence over Irish society. The newspaper on which Jimmys father is alluded for his wealth seems to help the state consolidate the ideology that money is more important than national identification. Yielding to the oppressors economic temptation and ideological manipulation, the businessman becomes the emblem of, using Vincent J. Chengs words in The Gratefully Oppressed, Irish collaboration with the conquerors (Cheng, 112). Frantz Fanon also holds a similar argument in The Wretched of the Earth, Colonialism tries to disarm national demands by putting forward economic doctrines. . . . We must become convinced that colonialism is incapable of procuring for the colonized peoples the material conditions which might make them forget their concern for dignity(207-8). In other words, the dominant group will always try to convince the dominated that the colonial ruler is the only one who can bring them economic prosperity. In nineteenth century Ireland, newspaper usually carried ideologies of either Unionism or Irish Nationalism and was also a useful tool for the dominator to affect the way the Irish thought (Connolly 406-7). In the story, through making use of mass media and allotting economic benefits, the British government successfully obtains the consent of an advanced Irish nationalist and converts him into a collaborative businessman.

Su 27

Contrast to the diasporic emotion prevalent in Taipei People, characters in Dubliners do not seem to have the similar feeling. Although the upper class in two works is foreign political power, those from Britain have arrived in Ireland for hundreds of years, much longer than those who just arrived in Taipei. Moreover, those from Britain do not come to Ireland against their own will, which does not fit the conditions of diaspora. Therefore, in Dubliners, diasporic sentiment is not as predominant as that in Taipei People. Rather, what is shown from the upper class characters in Dubliners is the complicit relationship with the middle class, such as the connection between the police and businessman in After the Race. The complicit relationship reflects the framework of hegemony in Irish society and the vivid images of people respectively in the upper class and the middle class. The image of an oppressor is always cast on the upper class while the middle class is always connected with the image of a cooperator with the oppressor. The oppressors temperament is reflected in the story Two Gallants, and the image of the cooperative middle class will be discussed in the next section. In Two Gallants, the image of an oppressor for the police is obvious. Corley is the son of a policeman. His physical figure is shaped to be burly and the way he strides is inherited from his father. The way he gazes after someone in the street is as if he is on parade (D 37). Corleys connection with police, his large frame and soldier-like gaze make him an emblem of military power. The military power is connected with the oppressor as his bulk, his easy pace, and the solid sound of his boots have something of the conqueror in them (D 40). As Vincent Cheng points out in The Gratefully Oppressed, In his macho aggressiveness and his police connections, there is a brutishly militaristic air, a conquerors attitude, in Corley (112). Under Joyces portrayal, Corley seems to capture the image of oppressor and internalizes the value of the British government.

Su 28

Contrasting the upper class in Taipei People and Dubliners, one can find that although the upper class are mostly occupied by the foreign political power in both novels, the two authors are very different in their representation of people in this class. In Taipei People, the bureaucrats and upper class construct the hegemony in Taiwanese society through ideological education. In this hegemony based on Chinese history, the national identification with mainland China is obvious. This identification is closely related to the diasporic experience of the upper class characters. Yet in Dubliners, the bureaucrats and upper class control the economy of Irish society and also try to construct the hegemony. In Joyces presentation of the complicit relationship between the upper and middle class, the negative image of oppressor for the upper class implies his disdain for the British States manipulation and oppression of Irish identification. Thus, from the two authors different perspectives on the upper class, it is clear that they have diverse recognition of the national identification. Pai is more positive about the upper class identification with China instead of Taiwan, while Joyce is disgusted at British manipulation of Irish national identity.

II. The Middle Class This class includes those who are intellectuals, or have the vocation as business and industry. The distinction between the upper and middle class is that the middle class have to earn a living with their profession and does not have substantial political power as the upper class does although people in these two classes may have similar economic life. Due to the diverse historical backgrounds, the constituents and economic condition of the middle class are slightly different in Dubliners from those in Taipei People. In the latter, the poor intellectuals from China take the main part of the middle class. Because the novel is set in 1960s when KMT just moved to Taiwan, the intellectuals, who followed KMT, later become the main part of the middle class

Su 29

in Taiwanese society ( 43). At that time, most people in Taiwan, except for the high officials, led an impoverished life including the intellectuals. As for the 19th-century Ireland, British colonization has stayed for hundreds of years. Thus the middle class, mostly taken by the Irish natives, has prospered and internalized the hegemony constructed by the upper class in Dubliners. The Irish middle class in Dubliners are better off and usually on good terms with the upper class. The two classes tend to be in complicit relationship under Joyces portrayal. What I would like to do in this section is to compare and contrast the image and behavior of the middle class in the two works. Then I will discuss how these aspects of the middle class influence their national identification respectively. As the middle class in Dubliners have closer connection with the upper class, I would like to begin with this work. In the previous section, it is mentioned that the upper class control and allot economic benefits to win the consent of Irish people and consolidate their colonization. When the Irish middle class take the advantage to take care of their business, their consent is given and their cooperation becomes great support to British government. This eventually leads to the identity crisis of the middle class. In the story After the Race and The Dead, readers can see the characters struggle over national identification under the British rule. As what has been discussed in the previous section, in After the Race, the complicity between the upper and middle class has altered an Irish nationalist. In what follows, I will the analyze how Joyce connects the middle class with the image of collaborator in The Dead and how the middle class character, the professor Gabriel, encounters the problem of identity crisis. Although being a native Irish, Gabriel Conroy takes in the dominators value and attitude. He is endowed with an image of accomplice or West Briton in the story. His replication of the colonizers superior attitude toward Irish people reflects the

Su 30

connection between him and the British Empire. As Vincent Cheng points out in Empire and Patriarchy in The Dead, the fact that Gabriel writes for the pro-Union newspaper The Daily Express suggests his own unconscious collusion with the Empire (138). Although Gabriel greatly praises the Irish traditions in his dinner speech, he regards the Irish guests around him as so uneducated that they could not understand the poetry he quotes and would think he was airing his superior education (D 141). Moreover, the two aunts for him are nothing but two ignorant old women (D 141). In fact, he feels superior to the Irish folks around him. Gabriels thought about his Irish fellows corresponds with Britains attitude about Ireland: The English now disparage the Irish because they are Catholic, poor and ignorant (italics added, CW 167). Miss Ivors is right in calling him, West Briton, a phrase for Irish who fawn on Britain (D 149). However, Gabriels struggle in national identification is reflected from his irritation with the name and his endeavor to defense himself in dinner speech. He feels perplexed when Miss Ivors accuses him of being a West Briton. This perplexity appears because Gabriel does not think writing a literary column for The Daily Express means he betrays Ireland. He even tries to defend himself by saying literature was above politics (D 148). Nevertheless, it is just a British kind of excuses to evade the problem of political conflict in Ireland. Using education and other propaganda such as mass media, the British government often spreads the idea or slogan like this in Ireland, which in a way forms the hegemony in its control of the place. By these means, Gabriel is unconsciously and successfully educated to be an Irish with an English way of thinking. However, despite his English way of thinking, he is still a man with Irish extraction, a fact that cannot be changed by education or any other possible way. As a native Irish, he is caught between his Irish background and what he is taught to be. When he has to face his own inferior Irish origin and

Su 31

culture, the struggle over the identification with Ireland or Britain is inescapable. Therefore, when Miss Ivors questions Gabriel about his own Irish background by saying havent you your own land to visit that you know nothing of, your own people, and your own country, he is so anguished that he retorts Im sick of my own country, sick of it (D 149)! In Taipei People, intellectuals encounter the different struggle over national identification from that of the Irish middle class in Dubliners. In Dubliners, the middle class are mostly occupied by the local Irish, while the middle class in Taipei People are mostly composed of Chinese immigrants. Instead of facing the exterior control as those in Dubliners, the middle class in Taipei People have to reaccommodate themselves to a new place they just arrive. In 1949, they followed KMT to Taiwan. After their arrival, although the middle class do not have the wealth to create their homeland in Taiwan as the upper class do, they share the same diasporic sentiments. Having both economic pressure and memories for the past, the intellectuals in Taipei People have to find a way to survive and revive their past China in the new place. Next, I would like to discuss how the national identification of the middle class is reflected in the way they deal with their diasporic emotions and financial problems after moving to Taiwan In Winter Night [], Professor Y faces the problem of national identification after he moved to Taiwan. Through him, Pai portrays how the Chinese scholar is caught by the predicament of national identities after the political change in 1949. At the time of KMTs transference, Professor Y came to Taiwan for practical reasons. When the realistic situation in Taiwan collides with his spiritual ideal in past China, however, Y is torn between the identification with the past China and with his practical need in the present Taiwan. In the story, Professor Y is one of the

Su 32

representative students of May Fourth Movement [].27 In 1919, these Chinese students could not tolerate the Chinese governments concession to Japan, and thus raised riots to protest against Japanese invasion. After the communist took over China, Y left for Taiwan, avoiding the communists purgation. However, Taiwan had nothing to do with the movement because it was still under Japanese colonial control at the time when the May Fourth Movement happened. Moving to such a place that shares few historical memory with Chinese immigrants, Y has difficulty identifying with the place as the nation he loves. Ernest Renan once defined the significance of a nation: A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. Two things, . . . constitute this soul or spiritual principle. . . . One is the possession in common of a rich legacy of memories; the other is present-day consent, the desire to live together, the will to perpetuate the value of the heritage that one has received in an undivided form. (italics added, Renan 52) Without common memory, it is problematic to consider Taiwan and China as the same nation. Although KMT insists that it should still be the lawful leader of China after 1949, can China still remain China after it is moved to Taiwan? Professor Ys problem is reflected on the interaction between him and his wives, and on his persistent desire for leaving Taiwan and teaching overseas. Ys love for his first wife and his practical need for his second wife symbolically reflects Ys attitude toward China and Taiwan. Professor Ys first wife, Ya-hsing, was a beautiful and virtuous woman whom Y met during the May Fourth movement in China. Their love in the tumultuous time and Ya-hsings duteousness as a wife are dear memories to Y. After the death of Ya-hsing, Y marries another wife.

27

May Fourth Movement: the movement happened on May fourth, 1919 in China. It was raised by a group of Chinese students who protested against Japanese occupation of Chinese territory. []

Su 33

However, Y and his present wife are married not out of love, but practical needs and the present wife cannot meet Ys spiritual need. She had put his books out to sun and lost a sheaf of notes left between the pages of the Oxford edition of Byrons Collected Poemsnotes that contained his own inspired reflections on the English poet, written more than twenty years before when he was teaching at Peking University. (TP 388) This wife obviously does not know the meaning and importance of Ys inspired reflections. What she can do well is to win the cooking money on mah-jong games or to take care of Y while he is sick (TP 388-90). Ys love and romanticism dies away with Ya-hsing andChina in 1949. In order to maintain his physical life, Y chooses to marry his second wife and relocate himself in Taiwan. This kind of union without love or identification explains Ys constant desire to leave Taiwan and teach overseas. As Tsai Shu-Hua points out in her thesis, many forty-niners want to leave Taiwan out of several reasons. Besides the economic pressure, another main reason is the identity problem ( 32). It is the same with Professor Y. Although a high-class intellectual in the country, he is not well-paid as a professor. His economic pressure pushes him to look for better chances. Moreover, the lack of emotional attachment toward his second wife and Taiwan makes Y care nothing about the two. In the story, he even never mentions or thinks about his second wife when he narrates about his desire to go abroad. Due to the historical complexity, Y is stuck in a predicament of longing for sweet memory of past Ya-Hsing while living unwillingly and helplessly with the second wife who doesnt even have a name. Y is thus torn as his soul yearns for the perfection of past Ya-Hsing in China but his body has to live for practical need fulfilled by the second wife in Taiwan. In Winter Night, Pai uses Ys story to show the difficulty of the forty-niner intellectuals national identification in Taiwan. His both symbolic and sympathetic

Su 34

writing of Ys story is very different from Joyces sarcastic treatment of the middle class or intellectuals in Ireland. In Taipei People, Professor Y faces a problem about national identification different from that of Gabriel. Unlike Gabriel, who cannot choose the national identity between the British state and Irish nation, Professor Y has no problem with his loyalty to his national identification with China. The problem that he encounters in Taiwan is that he is torn apart between his identification with China and his residence in Taiwan. The different problem about the national identification that they face can result from the different types of intellectuals they are. In contrast to the mainland intellectuals who are brought to Taiwan by the government in Taipei People, intellectuals in Dubliners come from native Irish families. From this, one can find that in the places where the colonizer and the colonized live with each other, the intellectuals from either side unavoidably face the problems of national identification in different ways.

III. Lower-Middle and Working Class In this section, the lower-middle and working class includes those who work as employees or earn a living as laborers. These two classes of people are grouped into this section because of a quality that they both share in their life: economic pressure. Therefore, the lower middle class is different from the middle class because of its worse economic condition. What should be noted is that this difference is less obvious between lower-middle and middle class in Taipei People. It is because the economic conditions of people in these two classes are similarly poor after the war and transference of the government. The distinction between the two classes in Taipei People is thus the job position. For example, Professor Y teaches in a university in Taiwan and he always wants to teach abroad to earn more. The teaching position groups him into the section of the middle class, while Mr. Lu, an elementary school

Su 35

teacher who has to raise chickens to make ends meet in Glorys by Blossom Bridge [], belongs to the lower-middle class. The lower-middle and working classes are the ruled classes that belong to the lower or lowest level of society. Thus the oppression from the higher level of society and the consequent economic pressure make a heavy burden in their life. In this section, I would like to discuss this layer of society from two main points. Firstly, the racial distribution of the constituents in this level is to be discussed. Secondly, what follows is how the people in this class are oppressed by other classes, how they react to the oppression and what political reality is reflected from their reaction. As most characters in Dubliners come from this level of society, I will begin with this work. In Dubliners, Joyce focuses on the Irish people in the lower-middle and working classes. Highly aware of Irelands colonized status, Joyce reflects on Irelands oppressed situation by portraying the common lives of these people. In these stories, most characters are not only in the lower class of society, but are directly or suggestively portrayed as Gaelic Irish. For example, Eveline is a story about a female store worker. Eveline recalls her mother mumbling Derevaun! Seraun! on her deathbed (D 28).28 In The Boarding House, Mrs. Mooney, who opens a boarding house, allots her time to go to Marlborough Street for a Catholic mass (D 48). In A Little Cloud, Little Chandler, a clerk in Kings Inns, ponders on using his mothers name to be more Irish-looking (D 56). In Counterparts, Farrington works as a copier for a superior who carries a Northern Irish accent. His wife is out at the chapel when he arrives home. His boy pleads for saying a Hail Mary for him while Farrington disciplines his son (D 74-5). In Clay, Maria changes her old bad opinion of Protestants when she gets the position in the Dublin by Lamplight laundry

28

Derevaun! Seraun!: Gaelic Language. According to Jeri Johnson, it is famously incomprehensible utterance. It has been suggested that it is west of Ireland Gaelic dialect.

Su 36

(D 77). From her previous bad opinion of Protestants, one can tell that she is a local Irish. In Ivy Day in the Committee Room, one of the canvassers, Mr. O Connor, chats with his friend Old Jack, whose son goes to Christian Brothers (D 92).29 In A Mother, Mrs. Kearney, who marries to a bootmaker, deliberately constructs the Irish image of her family by making friends with Irish Nationalists and saying Irish goodbye to their Nationalist friends. In contrast to Mr. Alleyne with Northern Irish accent working as superior in Counterparts, most characters in these stories are Gaelic Irish, and they work as subordinate in lower-middle or working class.30 Under British rule, Irish people are prejudiced and thus they are mostly in the lower position of Irish society while Anglo-Irish stay in the upper and middle classes. The unbalanced racial distribution in Irish society is caused by political oppression that British government imposes on Irish people. Terence Brown mentions Irish peoples common jobs in his introduction to Dubliners: the Dublin of the early years of the century was economically in serious decline and its energies were restrained by the limits placed upon ambition by a caste system which operated with almost comprehensive efficiency. (italics added, 21) In this paragraph, caste system suggests that there is a hierarchy in Irish society. Brown points out that the contemporary Dublin has serious economic problems that cause high rate of unemployment. He also mentions that Protestants, or Anglo-Irish people, occupy the upper level of society, although they are the minority. They have more economic resources and sometimes they even reserve for poorer Protestants many of the better-paid jobs in the government bodies (Brown, 22). Native Irish in Dublin thus have to take jobs such as shopkeepers, tradesmen, clerks, salesmen, and
29 30

Mr. O Connor: an Irish name. Northern Irish accent: North of Ireland is as a stronghold of the English; thus the Anglo-Irish is the majority here.

Su 37

servants. Under this unbalanced racial distribution in society, native Irish with little advantages can do nothing but swallow the pain. Facing the oppression from the British rule, the Irish people react with paralysis. According to Joyce, he mentions that he wants to write the moral history of Ireland and Dublin is for him the centre of paralysis (Letters II, 134). To Joyce, the paralysis in Irish society and culture is caused by two forces, the Roman Catholic Church and British colonization. In his speech Ireland, Island of Saints and Sages, he mentions that Individual initiative is paralysed by the influence and admonitions of the church, while its body is manacled by the police, the tax office, and the garrison (CW 171). Under the control of the British state, Irish people cannot fight back or escape but face it with numbness. This is a result related to Catholicism in Ireland. The word paralysis, as Kanter points out, was used by Joyce to portray their response and indicate their condition of spiritual torpor caused by what he perceived to be the oppressive religiosity of Catholic culture in Ireland (382). The emphasis of the Catholic Church on dogma and obedience paralyzes the spirit of Irish people, which enhances their endurance of oppression in different forms (Kanter 383). Thus in the stories one can find many examples about the paralysis in these Dubliners life. In Dubliners, paralysis is presented in various ways. As Brewster Ghiselin summarizes in The Unity of Dubliners: Their paralysis is more often expressed in a weakening of their impulse and ability to move forcefully, effectually, far, or in the right direction, especially by their frustration in ranging eastward in the direction of release or by their complete lack of orientation, by their failure to pass more than a little way beyond the outskirts of Dublin, or by the restriction of their movement altogether to the city or to some narrow area within it. (59) These forms of paralysis are the ways the Irish people react to the oppressed situation

Su 38

in life. In Eveline, the inactiveness of Eveline and her surroundings is everywhere in the text. As she is tired from the beginning of the story, she sits all along when she starts to think about her situation in the family. Craig Hansen Werner even observes the most subtle passivity in the portrayal of Eveline, her head was leaned31 (italics added, 36). The use of passive form in the sentence suggests Evelines motionlessness. The physical immobility signifies her moral paralysis in life. Although she believes it to be a hard life to live with her brutal father, she does not find it a wholly undesirable life (D 26). Her attachment to the life she dislikes and her passiveness about leaving shows her numbness to her fathers oppression. Even though she tries to escape, she cannot make herself determined but just pray to God to direct her. Thus, the religion justifies her weakness and in a way makes the oppression more acceptable. The similar attitude about life can be seen in The Boarding House, A Little Cloud, and Counterparts. In The Boarding House, Mrs. Mooney knows well about the moral system in Dublin and is also good at manipulating it to win her daughter a profitable marriage. As she tacitly allows things to happen between Mr. Doran and her daughter, she knows how to use the morality constructed by Catholicism to entrap Doran into an unfavorable marriage. As Mrs. Mooney announces Come down, dear. Mr. Doran wants to speak to you, Mr. Dorans choice to succumb reflects another kind of paralysis (D 52). This paralysis appears when Doran represses all his desire to fight against the arbitrariness of the morality and fly away to another country where he would never hear again of his trouble (D 51). In A Little Cloud, although Little Chandler has seen through Gallahers refusal of his invitation as patronizing him by his friendliness, he could not help thinking cooperating with Gallaher for publishing his poem (D 61). Facing the boredom and
31

Consulted from Werners Paralysis and Epiphany in his work Dubliners: A Pluralistic World.

Su 39

frustration in life, he wants to escape from his prison-like house and the economic predicament. However, he can only console himself with the thought of imaginary dark Oriental eyes until the crying of baby draws him back from his fantasy of escape into reality (D 63). In Counterparts, by drinking and losing the arm wrestle, Farrington tries to free himself from the weariness of work and the bossiness of his superior who is a Northern Irish (D 66). Failing to get himself drunk after buying rounds, he vents his anger on beating his innocent son. His violence at the end of the story makes him a counterpart of his oppressive Anglo-Irish superior, and his son, who says a Hail Mary to beg for mercy, becomes a counterpart of his father, who reacts to oppression with paralysis. From these examples, the Irish peoples condition of paralysis signifies not only Catholicisms spiritual control but also the British states colonial oppression. The helplessness out of their paralysis ironically makes these native Irish appear as if they were outsiders to Ireland. The beneficiary of all the social profits and welfare in Ireland is the foreign political power. Contrarily, the native Irish, though the original residents on the island, cannot control the fate of their own and their country. This oppressed situation of Irish people will be seen again in Pais Taipei People written, however, from a different perspective, that is, the fate. Comparing the fate that leads to and explains the suffering of the poor forty-niners, one is about to find that the destiny of these Taiwanese women covers up all other possible and more feasible explanations to their poverty, such as governmental attitude and political policies. This covering of the true reasons behind Taiwaneses poverty could be regarded as another form of oppression. In Taipei People, Pai writes a few stories about people living in the lower-middle or working class including forty-niners and Taiwanese women. These people in this social rank work as elementary school teacher, shopkeepers, servants and dancing

Su 40

girls. Because of war, the forty-niners in this group lead a destitute life after they move to Taiwan. Although they are relatively poor, they share the same experience of dislocation with the people in the upper and middle class. As for the five Taiwanese women in the novel, their misfortune and poverty are portrayed as the result of their fate or the way they are born to. In this part, I would like to examine this class from two aspects the same as the previous part on Dubliners. First, I will talk about the constituents of the lower middle and working class of Taipei People. Second, I would like to discuss the different kinds of problems or oppression in the life of forty-niners and Taiwanese in this layer of social class. What follows is how the forty-niners face their problems with paralysis, how the oppression over Taiwanese is explained as fate by the author and how these characters and the authors national identification is reflected. In Taipei People, there is a wide difference in the distribution of the forty-niners and Taiwanese in this layer of social class. It seems fair that Pai writes about both forty-niners and Taiwanese in the lower class of society. However, if one takes a comprehensive look of the novel, one is about to find Taiwanese people only in the working class in this text and they all work for the forty-niner employers. The forty-niners in the lower-middle or working class are relatively fewer. In seven stories, the main characters are the forty-niners of the the upper class, while only in four other stories the main characters are the lower-middle and working class. Besides, some forty-niners can still be the employers or managers of Taiwanese laborers even though they work as dancing girls or prostitutes. From Pais arrangement of two groups of people, Taiwanese are relatively disadvantaged while the forty-niners are in better economic and social condition even in the lowest rank of society. The unfavorable situation of Taiwanese characters in Taipei People corresponds with the condition of native Irish people in Dubliners.

Su 41

Because of the unbalanced distribution of the forty-niners and Taiwanese in social class, the problems or oppression in their lives are different. The forty-niners of this class are burdened with economic pressure and the past memories of China. Unlike the Anglo-Irish in Dubliners, the forty-niners in Taiwan are not all in a good economic condition. Because of the war and dislocation, some forty-niners lose everything on their way and thus have to start over with their life in Taiwan. The economic pressure forces these forty-niners to start a new business in Taiwan, sell out their labor or be driven into prostitution again. For example, Taipan Chin works in a night club in The Last Night of Taipan Chin []; Wang Hsiung works as a manservant in A Sea of Blood-red Azaleas []; Fragrant Cloud Number Six works as a manager in a night club in Loves Lone Flower []; the Boss-Lady opens a restaurant and Mr. Lu teaches in an elementary school in Glorys by Blossom Bridge []. In addition to the economic pressure, the heavy memories of their past in China are the most torturous in their life in Taiwan. Although these forty-niners have moved on with their life, they cannot forget their past life in China. In The Last Night of Taipan Chin, Taipan Chin sits in the dressing room recollecting her life as a taxi dancer for twenty years. From her glory in the Paramount [] back in Shanghai to her influential status in Nuits de Paris [] in Taipei, she laments her lost youth and missed chances. In A Sea of Blood-red Azaleas, Wang Hsiung, though resigns himself to being the humble servant of Little Beauty, takes her as the substitute for his fiance in China. In Glorys by Blossom Bridge, Mr. Lu, in order to wait and find her fiance back in China, tries to save as much money as he can by teaching school boys and raising chickens. However, all his work does not add to his luck. His savings in fifteen years only buys him a lie. Facing the huge change in life, these forty-niners have different attitudes toward

Su 42

this change but share similar national identification. Some are optimistic about the future and energetically carry on with their life. Others may get lost in the memory for the past and can only live by finding substitutes in the new place. Nevertheless, no matter how these forty-niners look on their life in Taiwan, their identification with China is the same. For example, In The Last Night, Taipan Chin is about to get married and start a new life in Taiwan. However, the night club in Taipei is never comparable to that in Shanghai. In Glorys, the Boss-Lady has opened a restaurant and started a life in Taipei. Yet her opinion about Taiwan is not as positive as about China: To tell the truthin a place like our Kweilin, with its heavenly scenery, youd expect the people to be a bit extraordinary. [] I never dreamed Id ever live in a dump like Taipeia typhoon one year, an earthquake the next. It doesnt matter what kind of beauty you are, this weather is enough to ruin anybodys look. (D 266) For those who are lost in their nostalgia, their life in Taiwan is the search for the substitute of their love in China. Wang Hsiung in A Sea loves Little Beauty because she resembles his past love in China. In Glorys, Mr. Lu refuses all the opportunities to get married in Taiwan, just to wait for a slim chance to see his fiance in China again. For the forty-niners in this class of society, they are very aware of their identity as outsiders in Taiwan because they have more chances to get in touch with the native Taiwanese. Nevertheless, the real outsider of in Taiwanese society is never the group of the forty-niners. Although the forty-niners are the later immigrants, the real outsiders of Taiwanese society are native Taiwanese. This is particularly shown in the difference of the working position of the forty-niners and the native Taiwanese when put in the same social rank. Both in the working class, the forty-niners, although

Su 43

living in similar poverty, can always possess higher job position than the native Taiwanese women in Taipei People. In The Last Night of Taipan Chin, although falling to a prostitute in a small ballroom in Taipei, Taipan Chin can still be the leader of the girls, including the Taiwanese girl Phoenix. In Glorys by Blossom Bridge, even the self-awared outsider Number Six is a manager who looks after the girls, including the Taiwanese girl Dainty (TP 232). In Taipei People, these Taiwanese women are edged to the corner of the text and become the outsiders of the society dominated by forty-niners. Although Taiwanese people are the majority in Taiwan, Pai seldom mentions them in the novel. Not only do they have little voice, but they always seem to have distorted personalities or live in a terrible condition. Most importantly, they were born to live a miserable life and are never going to have a good end in the future. For example, In Glorys Blossom Bridge, Spring Maid, a washerwoman, has the most disgusting looks and the lowest moral sense. She seduces Mr. Lu and ends up cheating on him. Happy is a female servant in A Sea of Blood-red Azaleas. She is extremely fat but she likes to and is also good at posturing herself and provoking others. She ends up being raped by Wang Hsiung. Dainty is a prostitute in Loves Lone Flower. She was born to a crazy mother and a brutal father. She eventually kills Yama and ends up crazy. In The Last Night, Phoenix has a drunken father. She is forced out of her family by her stepmother to be a dancing girl. No matter how hard Taipan Chin tries to bring her up and make her the hottest girl in the club, she ends up deserted with pregnancy. As the poor Taiwanese girl Dainty concludes her misery by saying This is my lot in Loves Lone Flower, Pai uses destiny to explain Taiwanese womens suffering: these women had no choice but to be born to the ruled and oppressed group that has been deprived of the chance to live a wealthy life in the society of Taiwan (TP 238). With this fatalism, Pai, however, ignores other political effects that actually led

Su 44

Taiwanese to poverty, such as the land policy at that time. In Hsu Shih-Jungs From Transformative Justice to the Policy of Land to the Tillers, the land policy enforced at the time of the Taipei People caused the poor political and economic condition of Taiwanese people ( A15).
32

Although this is never brought up in the text, the

fate of these girls destitution speaks the indifference of the new government and Pais ignorance of the real situation of Taiwanese. For people in the lower-middle and working class, both Joyce and Pai have directly or indirectly shown the oppressed condition of these Irish or Taiwanese. Joyces portrayal of these peoples predicament in life reflects the British oppression over Irish people. Joyces sarcastic tone in his portrayal of poor native Irish suggests the sadness of these peoples inaction to the British exploitation. In Taipei People, Pai is sympathetic for those who have to earn for their survival in Taiwan while having difficulty forgetting the past in China. He shows pity on those who fall to a place and status that they dont deserve. As Ou Yang Tzu points out in the preface of Taipei People, Pai gives his most commiseration to this type of people ( 2002, 11).33 As for the lower Taiwanese characters in this section, their inferior family background and miserable life experience reflect the helplessness and the oppressed situation of Taiwanese. Although Pai does not focus on the poor condition of Taiwanese, he reveals in few minor characters the difficulty of the ruled on their own island as Joyce does with Irish. What these Taiwanese suffer is poverty-stricken life instead of the nostalgic mood toward China as forty-niners do. In the three types of social class, the bureaucrats and the upper class, the middle class, and the lower-middle and working class, both Joyce and Pai present the similar hierarchical colonial societies from different perspectives. In Dubliners and Taipei

32 33

From Transformative Justice to the Policy of Land to the Tillers: Authors translation. Authors translation.

Su 45

People, the upper class and the advantages of society are both occupied by the foreign political power, and the local people in two places are edged to the corner of society. However, Joyce is different from Pai in his position and attitude. Joyces identification with Ireland is circumstantial. His portrayal of the British as an overall winner is the strongest accusation against British oppression. Yet his presentation of Dublin as a paralyzed city is a severe blow to Irishs numbness. Despite his circumstantial identification, Joyces focus on the colonized Irish is apparent. As for Taipei People, Pais identification with China is obvious in the novel. He focuses on the exile and nostalgic sentiments of the dislocated forty-niners, although he puts these characters in different social classes. No matter what they become of after moving to Taiwan, their common treasure is the memories for the past glory days in China. On the other hand, he puts Taiwanese at the bottom of society. What is related to Taiwanese or Taiwan is unexceptionally connected with vulgarity or lowness. With these Taiwanese characters, what is revealed is the big contrast between the life and social status of Taiwanese and of forty-niners. After discussing people from all walks of life in the society of Ireland and Taiwan, I would like to continue with the aspect of language to see how the issue of national identity is addressed.

Su 46

Chapter Two: Language In Joyces Dubliners and Pais Taipei People, one can find that more than one single language is written by two authors. This reflects the political situation of Ireland and Taiwan. In colonial societies of Ireland and Taiwan, most people speak more than one language. The use and the status of a language usually have political implications. Frantz Fanon once said: to speak a language is to take on a world, a culture (Fanon 38). In other words, a language stands for a culture. As the control of language is one of the strategies for the colonizers to impose their culture and maintain their rule, the dominators language is always imposed to the colony. I. Language Histories of Ireland and Taiwan In Ireland and Taiwan, both colonizers have enforced language control and repressed the use and development of native or local languages. Since English domination over Ireland, English had taken over Gaelic, and become the most prevalent language on the island. In the twelfth century, Ireland became the English colony. Noblemen who came from Britain spoke French and English at that time. Although these settlers spoke their languages in Ireland, their languages were mostly Gaelicised and affected by Irish language (Wales 2-4). Later in 1366, the use of English was enforced and the speaking of Gaelic by the English descendants should be penalized. This was an attempt of the British government to maintain English as the language of the authorities in Ireland. However, it was not until the rule of Cromwell that English was able to spread to a large extent (4). Cromwell instituted the settlements in Ireland for economic reasons, which deprived the Catholic landowners of their land. Benefiting from the land policy, English speakers in Ireland gradually held the control of economic advantages. According to Katie Waless The Language of James Joyce, more and more people switched to English or became bilingual after 1700. Half population in Ireland spoke English by 1800 (4). Wales

Su 47

explains that the move towards the increasing use of English resulted not only from the policy of the British government, but also from the desire of the Irish, who spoke English for economic and social interests (4-5). In order to survive in Ireland controlled by English rulers, Irish people had to find a way to be more accepted economically and socially. Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that native Irish language was gradually associated with deprivation and low status. Thus the development of English language in Ireland implies the political expansion and economical control of British colonial rule. Taiwanese people also experienced the oppression in language by the policy of a foreign political force. What is special about Taiwan, and different from Ireland, is that Taiwan was successively the colony of two different regimes that were enemies in World War II. The official language in Taiwan thus changed with the advent of different governments. Before the end of the Second World War, Taiwan was Japans colony for fifty years. In the last fifteen years of Japans colonial rule, the Kominka movement [] was enforced and Taiwanese language was strictly controlled ( 207). According to Masayoshi Matsunaga, Japanese had become a prevalent language in Taiwan through education and the Kominka movement at the end of Japans rule (18).34 Under Japans severe control over Taiwan, Japanese language meant working opportunities and higher status. Therefore, the use and the development of Taiwanese were restrained. The change of the official language in Taiwan happened when Japan was defeated at the World War II and had to give up their colonial dominance regime. Due to the hostility toward Japan and the sense of superiority of being a victorious country, the new government regarded the education of Taiwan under Japans rule as

34

My translation.

Su 48

enslaved education ( 30-33).35 Thus Japanese was equal to a slave language and should be banned. Later, the language policy was expedited after KMT moved to Taiwan and Mandarin was the only language encouraged. At that time, Taiwan had been cut out from Chinese language for fifty years. Mandarin, under the circumstances, was like a new language to Taiwanese people. As Matsunaga points out, one of the main reasons for the pain Taiwanese people endured when transferring to Mandarin is the big difference between Taiwanese and Mandarin (Matsunaga 19). However, the pain in acquiring a new language was not felt by the forty-niners and ruling class. KMTs National Language Movement shows their disregard of Taiwanese peoples difficulty in learning a new language and, moreover, their ambitious attempt to exercise their political and cultural control over Taiwan society. KMTs psychology as a colonizer was revealed in their promotion of Mandarin and association of other dialects (especially Taiwanese) with backwardness and low status. Introspecting the colonial histories of Ireland and Taiwan, one can find their common experience is that their native languages are controlled and restrained from their life by their rulers. With the language policy enforced in these two places, the ruler and the subaltern become the two opposing parties. Pai and Joyce, according to their background and works, belong relatively to the two opposing sides. Due to the personal background and political advantage, Pais language in his work is more positive about Chinese culture and the characters who respect it. Pai came from a prominent family in China before 1949. As KMT moved to Taiwan and claimed themselves to be the solely legitimate regime of China, the Chinese culture Pai and other forty-niners inherited became the dominant culture in Taiwan. As for the language of local Taiwanese, Pai is mostly negative in this work. Thus his cultural standpoint is identified with the official attitude.
35

Ibid.

Su 49

Different from Pais privileged background, Joyce was a native Irish and was very aware of the oppression that Britain imposed upon Ireland. His native-Irish background also made him different from the Anglo-Irish writer such as Yeats, who did not sense the Irish cultural inferiority that haunted Joyce, as I have mentioned in Chapter One (Watson 158). As for the long colonial history of Ireland, Joyce was clear about the fact that English culture was closely mixed with Irish culture over hundreds of years, especially the language. In Ireland, English had become a major language for communication. Irish was a language only spoken by peasants in the western and a few southern provinces of Ireland until the Gaelic League revived the language. 36 Although Joyce knew it was the result of hundred years of English domination, he showed his attitude toward the revival of Gaelic language: The members of the League write to each other in Irish, and often the poor postman, unable to read the address, must turn to his superior to untie the knot (CW 156). Joyce doubted the practicability of Irish and suggested that English had rooted in Ireland. However, the fact that Joyce doubted the revival of Irish does not equate him with the English ruler, who suppressed the use of Irish. Although he uses the language of the dominator as Pai does in his works, Joyce is very different from Pai in the attitude of using languages. He is clear about the function and social status of English in Ireland. English has become the major tool for communication at Joyces time. Thus it is unfeasible to completely stop using the language and substitute it with long-lost Irish as Gaelic Leaguers intend to do. On the contrary, to show the nature of the oppressor, Joyce chooses to use the oppressors language and manipulates it. Joyce has said through the autobiographical character Stephen Dedalus that he would use silence, exile and cunning as the arms for his defence (P 247). Cunning is

best shown especially in his later works such as Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, which
36

Joyce pointed it out in his speech: Ireland, Island of Saints and Sages (CW 155).

Su 50

are fraught with a great amount of wordplay and puns. In Dubliners, Joyce mixes a great deal of Irish elements with the English text and thus shakes the empire built by language policy. In this light, one finds that the biggest difference between Joyce and Pai, although they both use the dominators language, is that Joyce stands at a position of an oppressed Irish while Pai speaks Mandarin from the position of the ruler. II. A Chinese Center in Pais Language Strategy According to Michel Foucaults The History of Sexuality, it is in discourse that power and knowledge are joined together (Foucault vol. 1. 100). In other words, the exertion of power reveals itself from the control of what people should speak or even what language they should use. In Taiwan and Irelands history of colonization, the control of language is the same experience that they both have. In the following, I would like to study the trace of the power exertion on language in Pais Taipei People. Taipei People was written in the nineteen sixties, after Pai left Taiwan and studied in the United States. Going abroad was a rediscovery of Chinese culture for him (, 443).37 This rediscovery inspired Pai to write Taipei People and affected his attitude toward culture. Yuan Liangjun [] recorded Pais own words about how Chinese culture had impact on him: I was greatly influenced by Chinese poetry. Since I was a kid, I had loved Tang poetry, Song lyrics, and Yuan songs. . . . My direction in my writing would never go astray because traditional Chinese literature is like a foundation stone. No matter where the direction is set, I stand on this foundation.
38

( 66)

In Tzeng Hsiu-Pings [] interview with Pai, Pai mentioned his attitude toward the Chinese language. He explained that his use of words was very Chinese partly

37 38

My translation. Ibid.

Su 51

because of his training in traditional Chinese. As Pai said, he purposely wove the traditional Chinese literature with a modern style into Taipei People ( 198).39 The life and stories of these traditional Chinese people in Taiwan, Pai points out, would have been soon gone if he had not hurried to write their stories (, 174).40 Therefore, as a Chinese that he believes himself to be, Pai records the life and story of these roaming Chinese in Chinese language. With his very Chinese style in language, Pai builds a Chinese center in Taipei People. His construction of the Chinese center has political and personal backgrounds. After KMTs retreat to Taiwan, Taiwan became the place where KMT extended their rule of the Chinese government. Chinese culture and language were regarded as the central value of the new government. Under such political circumstances, along with his own Chinese background and his aim at writing Chinese stories in Taiwan, Pais use of Mandarin as the main language in Taipei People seems natural. It seems also natural that narrators in the stories speak Mandarin. However, it seems unusual that these Chinese people, moving to Taipei where Taiwanese is mostly spoken, seldom have the chance to learn or even hear Taiwanese. In this work, few of the main or minor characters speak Taiwanese. Moreover, the Chinese language is so beautifully handled and performed by these Chinese people that one almost forgets there might be still plenty of people around who did not understand Mandarin or suffered from the drastic change in language from Japanese to Mandarin. With his skillful writing technique and artistic style in Chinese language, Pai builds a Chinese center, the same one as the dominator tries to build in Taiwan. What lies behind this Chinese center is the power of the new government who positions Mandarin as the only official language.41 Mandarin was a dialect made official in China. Locating Mandarin as the
39 40 41

Ibid. Ibid. After Taiwan was returned to the Chinese government in 1945, Mandarin became the official

Su 52

national language implies that the government KMT defines themselves as the only legitimate Chinese regime. Using Mandarin to write the story of Chinese in Taiwan thus stands for Pais recognition of Chinese culture and KMTs political power. From Pais using Mandarin as the major language and adding Chinese elements in his use of words, one sees not only characters sorrow of leaving Mainland China in Taipei People, but also their (including Pais) clinging to the past China, instead of the new place Taiwan. The Chinese center in Pais work is constructed by his tactical use of dialects. Many critics have praised Pais use of different dialects to depict the diverse cultures in the stories. Yang Shu-Chen [] in her thesis has noted that in addition to Mandarin as the main language, there are some other dialects interlaced in characters dialogues in the novel ( 225).42 Yuan [] praises Pais excellence in integrating dialects, archaism and even foreign languages into the use of Mandarin (240). However, although Pai has mixed many dialects (including Taiwanese) in shaping some characters background, his use of these dialects is within the framework with Mandarin at the center. This framework is manifest in two characteristics of Pais use of dialects in the stories. Firstly, he intentionally uses traditional Chinese elements in his language and exerts superb skills in writing Chinese language. Secondly, there is a hierarchy in Pais use of dialects. Before looking into the first point, one should have an idea that Chinese language is very different from English and does not have the distinct grammatical system as English does. In this way, to study Chinese language, I will focus on literal meanings of the language in Taipei People rather than the linguistic aspect that characterizes English usage.
language that Taiwanese had to learn. In 1956, the government in Taiwan even pushed Speaking Mandarin Compaign and urged that no dialect except Mandarin be used in Taiwan. 42 My translation.

Su 53

In Taipei People, Pai carefully arranges the traditional Chinese culture with beautiful Chinese sentences to create characters. What he shows from the Chinese elements in his language is his identification with the culture.43 Many elements of Chinese culture, history, or common memories of these characters are displayed through Pais description of characters home in Taiwan, especially in the third-person narrative stories. In The Dirge of Liang Fu, the elegance of Chinese classic literature and traditional Chinese lifestyle are consciously arranged to decorate the residence of one of R.O.Cs founding fathers, the General Pu, The study was furnished with archaic elegance. On one wall hung the large center-scroll from a triptych, a Ming landscape, Fisherman-Recluse in Winter Forest, by Wen Cheng-ming. The couplet on the two scrolls on either side, taken from Tu Fus poem Climbing the Tower, was written in the vigorous and forceful hand of Cheng Pan-chiao.

The Broacade River carries springtide splendor To Heaven as to Earth; Above Jade Castle Mountain the floating clouds Transform the ancient to the present hour. (TP 202-3)

Using a Chinese poem, Pai not only reflects the transformation from the ancient to the present that Pu is undergoing, but also draws forth the Chinese atmosphere in
43

Pai once said that Chinese culture had positive impact on him. He considered that Chinese literature and language were the source and foundation of his own writing. This is mentioned in Page 49 in this thesis.

Su 54

General Pus study room located in Taipei. With the subtle description of details in the study room, Pai successfully constructs the image of a R.O.C founder who believes himself heir to Chinese culture and tradition. Another similar example that constructs the Chinese center in Taipei People can be found in Pais use of words in Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream. In this story, Pai decorates Madame Tous living room in a blend of Chinese and Western styles [] (TP 336). The two large sofas and four armchairs, all covered in black velvet with a design of wine-red begonia leaves, faced each other in a circle. Inside the circle on a low rectangular table stood a tall gallbladder vase of fine blue porcelain; from the vase sprang forth a bunch of Dragon-beard chrysanthemums, their red petals veined in gold. To the right, surrounded by eight sandalwood chairs, was an Eight-Immortals table with a marble top, laden with all sorts of bonbonnires and tea things. In the alcove stood a towering ebony screen with an inlaid-mica design of bats and drifting clouds. The screen was flanked by six redwood chairs in a semi-circle, three on each side. (TP 336) In this quotation, one can find many traditional Chinese antiques and ornaments in Madame Tous living room, such as the gallbladder vase of fine blue porcelain and an ebony screen with an inlaid-mica design. Besides these Chinese curiosities, the mix of

Su 55

Western style also shows the Chinese center constructed in Pais portrayal of the living room. In this blend of Chinese and Western styles, the word Western suggests a vague source from the west without any implication of a specific place or a country, different from the word Chinese that directly points out the style from China. The sofas and bonbonnires that embody the western style show a vague idea about the world outside China. What is reflected is that the speaker has the presupposition that China is the center. Except for China, any place else is vague, indistinct and stereotypical. Moreover, many Chinese images and colors are used to decorate Tous living room. The flower chrysanthemums, the vase and the color red, gold, black, blue-and-white (color of the vase) are very Chinese elements. Therefore, Chinese culture and identification as the center to Madame Tou is revealed from the layout and decoration of her living room. Apart from the Chinese elements in his language, Pais composition of beautiful Chinese sentences in his portrayal of these elements also implies the esteemed status of Chinese language in this work. The two previous quotes that show the Chinese atmosphere and have the implication of the centered Chinese can show the subtlety and vividness of Pais language. Moreover, his skill in exerting Chinese language is widely praised by many critics. As Yuan has noted, Pai is an outstanding writer in handling and weighing the use of words ( 239), and he is very handy with old but effective traditional rhetoric skills (257).44 Yan Yuanshu points out in his article Language of Pai Hsien-yung that mixing the classical and vernacular Chinese can be Pais biggest contribution in language innovation ( 139).45 Ou-yang Tzu also praises Pais proper adoption and skillful manipulation of Chinese classic literature in her analysis of the story The Dirge of Liang Fu (

44 45

Ibid. Ibid.

Su 56

151).46 Pais identification with the Chinese culture is revealed from his effort to write the book in a very Chinese style and his devotion to the beautiful Chinese language in this work. In Taipei People, Pais use of different dialects constructs a hierarchy between dialects. This hierarchy shows another characteristic of Pais Chinese framework in the work. Some may argue that Pai has adopted many dialects in this work; thus it does not seem convincing that Pai values Mandarin the most. Indeed, Pai mixes different dialects in Taipei People. However, if one looks closer, one should find that there is a difference in Pais use of Mandarin and other dialects. Pai uses Mandarin with little mixture of other dialects as the narrative voice especially in the third-person narrative stories. Other dialects are used only in the form of dialogues to shape the personalities or personal background of characters. The difference in Pais arrangement of dialects builds a hierarchy between other dialects and Mandarin. In other words, the use of other dialects is for supplementary or decoration while Mandarin is the language that controls the mainline of the story. Mandarin is used as a language with an indifferent tone, which increases the authenticity of this language in this work. Its function of narrating stories even consolidates its authority. This way of using Mandarin reflects its status as a central language for Pai and this work. Thus, one can sense the dominance of Mandarin as an authoritative and authentic narrator in the stories. In Taipei People, there are ten stories that use the third person narrative and four, the first person narrative. Different from first person narration that is mixed with personal feelings, the third person narrator tells the story in a relatively cold but certain voice. Apart from the previous paragraph quoted from The Dirge of Liang Fu, this kind of voice also appears in The Eternal Snow Beauty,
46

Ibid.

Su 57

Yin Hsueh-yen somehow never seemed to age. . . . But however the affairs of men fluctuated, Yin Hsueh-yen remained forever Yin Hsueh-yen, the Snow Beauty of Shanghai fame. In Taipei, she still wore her white chi-pao of cicada-wing gauze, smiling as always her faint smile. Not allowing so much as a single wrinkle to appear at the corners of her eyes. (TP, 2) (TP 3) Whether it is true or not that Yin Hsueh-yen never seemed to age, the tone in the paragraph is so certain and convincing that makes people believe there may be someone who never ages. Moreover, one cannot find dialects or a bit of emotion in Mandarin in the paragraph. It is only Mandarin, instead of any other dialects, that is associated with authenticity and authority in this novel. The similar way of using Mandarin can be found in Ode to Bygone Days, One winter evening an old woman stopped in front of the main gate of the Li residence in Lane 120 on Nanking East Road. She lifted her head, squinted, and gazed for a long time at the double door of Chinese cypress; the vermilion paint was cracked and falling off, and spots of mould were already shoing on it. (TP 178) (TP 179) Giving physical details and drawing the outline of the story, Pai simply describes the event in Mandarin without adding any emotion or mixing dialects in the language. In another story A Sky Full of Bright, Twinkling Stars, the third narrator we tells the

Su 58

story in plain Mandarin without any emotion in tone, There was a time several months long when you couldnt find a trace of the Guru in the Park. Within our circle there were all kinds of rumors; they all said the Guru had gotten himself arrested and put in prison by the police; and not only that, he had been booked on a morals charge (italics added, TP 320) (TP 321) From this quotation, one can judge from the rumors that it is an unreliable narrator speaking. However, Pai chooses to use a calm and convincing voice to certify the rumors with the use of words all [] and not only that []. That they all say increases the authenticity of the rumor. The information after the adverbial phrase, not only that, adds truthfulness to the previous sentence. Moreover, from Pais own English translation, he uses the past perfect tense to confirm the certainty of this rumor. These language details not only make the rumor credible but also consolidate credibility of Mandarin. With an indifferent tone, physical details and an authoritative narrator, Pai is creating Mandarin as an authentic, authoritative language. Nevertheless, other dialects receive different treatments from Pai. Once other dialects are used in text, they are connected with emotions, personal feelings, and subjective judgments. In the ten stories with the third person narrative, there is only one exception that has dialect in narrators voice: The Last Night of Taipan Chin. In The Last Night, Pai uses Shanghai dialect to portray Taipan Chins story through a third person narrator. However, the way Pai uses Shanghai dialect is quite different from the way he deals with Mandarin. Different from the cold and calm voice in Mandarin, the language of Shanghai dialect is very personal and sentimental.

Su 59

Up his mothers! She flung her bag down on the dressing table as she came in. Spitting out a curse, she parked her ass in front of the large mirror. What a cheap creep! 47 48

Shed shot her mouth off in front of her sister dancers. Im not as desperate for holy matrimony as you galsall of you ready to grab any old bird with one foot in the grave! 49

The thing is, shed tested him the last month or so; except for his age and being bald on topand a bit of a penny-pincherhe was a decent guy. 50 (TP 116-21) In these quotes, Pai adds many personal feelings and emotional expressions in the language, such as Chins spitting curses, her opinion about marriage and the new man she meets. These emotions make the narrative look like the stream of consciousness or self-confession of Taipan Chin. Shanghai dialect is thus associated with the expression of personal feelings, instead of the impartial and authoritative statement of Mandarin. In Pais arrangement of dialects, Mandarin is authentic and authoritative

47 48 49 50

This is a curse from Shanghai dialect. : Ibid. : This is also from Shanghai dialect. : Ibid.

Su 60

while other dialects are emotional and biased. What is political about this arrangement is that Mandarin was the official language and many other dialects such as Hakka were restrained in Taiwanese society. Pais use of language not only shows his identical view of language with the new government, but also reflects the center of Chinese culture constructed by his language hierarchy. In Taipei People, another dialect Taiwanese serves as the bottom of the language hierarchy. Taiwanese in this work is used as an expression not only of characters emotions, but also of characters miserable life experience. Taiwanese was the dialect for Hoklo, a group of people who form the largest population in Taiwan. However, the dialect seldom appears in Taipei People, although all characters in the novel are placed in Taipei. Besides, whenever Taiwanese is spoken, the speaker is telling her own miserable story or just spitting curses. In Taipei People, Taiwanese language seems only to be used to portray vulgar Taiwanese people in the lowest cultural level. In contrast to other Chinese dialects that narrate the past glory or honorable hometown memory, Taiwanese, however, is only used to portray the backwardness and misery in Taiwan. Pai seems to pick the unfavorable way of speaking Taiwanese in his portrayal of Taiwanese characters. As Tang Biau says in her article, the local Taiwanese people are made rude and uncivilized by Pais arrangement of these characters ( 114).51 The negative wording in Taiwanese can be seen in sad songs or dialogues. This reflects the mean situation that Taiwanese characters are in. There are three stories about Taiwanese characters who speak in Taiwanese. In A Sea of Blood-red Azaleas, Happy once sang a Taiwanese sob-tune in a shrill voice (TP 162). She used to tease Wang Hsiung and curse Rot your parents [] (TP 170)!52 In

51 52

My translation. : A kind of curse in Taiwanese, literally meaning crying for your fathers death.

Su 61

Loves Lone Flower, Dainty sings Third-Son Lins [] Loves Lone Flower, a Taiwanese ballad, with the most bitter sorrow. As she narrates her miserable past and shows the red scar left after her mad mothers bite, her smile on the face is twisted and sour (TP 234-40). In the same story, the Yama, Ko Lao-hsiung [], directly or indirectly speaks three times. Twice of what he speaks is fuck off! [] or damn your mothers soul [] (TP 245-53)!53 In Glorys by Blossom Bridge, the Taiwanese trollop, the washerwoman Spring Maid, was portrayed as a vulgar spitfire with a pair of huge boobs. The only thing she says is Fuck your mothers[] (TP 282)!54 From these examples, the Taiwanese they use are either sad Taiwanese songs or curses. It is conspicuous that Taiwanese dialect is used to portray the negative side of Taiwan and Taiwanese people. With Pais arrangement, the dialect Taiwanese suggests backwardness and vileness and is obviously the lowest dialect in Pais language hierarchy in Taipei People. Either the Chinese dialect or the Taiwanese dialect is used to individualize the personality of characters, be it emotion, vulgarity or vileness, but they cannot take over the story line narrated by a third person in Mandarin. Under Pais arrangement, the Chinese center manifestly reveals itself. It appears with a great deal of Chinese elements in beautiful Chinese language, or in the language hierarchy in which Mandarin is for an authoritative narrator while Taiwanese is associated with the uncivilized. Moreover, his use of dialects in Taipei People corresponds to the official language policy in Taiwan, which implies his identification with KMT as a legitimate Chinese regime. Thus through his treatment of different dialects, Pais national identification is clearly shown. III. Irish English in Dubliners
53

These two phrases, fuck off and Damn your mothers soul, are actually one in Taiwanese: , literally meaning motherfucker. 54 : A kind of curse in Taiwanese, literally meaning fuck your mothers private place.

Su 62

In Pais Taipei People, one can see the Chinese center in his language strategy. Mandarin, the official language of the new dominant political force, shows its ruling position and authoritative status in the work. Although using the dominators language as Pai does, Joyce has a different language strategy in Dubliners. In this work, one can still see the connection between discourse and power Foucault brings up in The History of Sexuality. Foucault emphasizes that discourse is controlled as well as supported by power. As he notes, It [power] speaks, and that is the rule (Foucault 83). Through stipulating of what can or cannot be spoken, power is strengthened and reinforced. In the Irish society at that time, different languages are endowed with distinct cultural and social implications due to the policy of the English government. In Dubliners, one can find the power and hierarchy hidden behind Gaelic and English spoken by people in Dublin. However, Foucault also notes, Where there is power, there is resistance, and yet, or rather consequently, this resistance is never in a position of exteriority in relation to power (95). That is, the resistance to power always exists within the power structure. In Joyces English text, one is easy to find the trace of resistance between lines. First of all, I will begin with Joyces attitude to Irish language and English. Joyce never shies away from expressing his opinion about Irish language revival by the Gaelic League. He tends to devaluate this language movement for a more realistic reason. Joyce criticizes the exclusiveness of the language revival and the disregard of prevailing English in Ireland. He once wrote to his brother Stanislaus Joyce on November 6, 1906, saying that If the Irish programme did not insist on the Irish language I suppose I could call myself a nationalist (Letters II 187). In other words, Joyce cares about the colonial status of Ireland; however, he makes it clear that it was the language policy of Irish nationalists that he does not agree. He also publicly shows his attitude toward the language revival in his famous speech in Trieste:

Su 63

The League organizes concerts, debates, and socials at which the speaker of beurla (that is, English) feels like a fish out of water, confused in the midst of a crowd that chatters in a harsh and guttural tongue. In the streets, you often see groups of young people pass by speaking Irish, perhaps a little more emphatically than is necessary. The members of the League write to each other in Irish, and often the poor postman, unable to read the address, must turn to his superior to untie the knot. (CW 155-6) From this passage, one can see that Joyce is satirical about the way the Gaelic League revives Irish language. Speaking Irish becomes a fashion in the intellectual circle instead of the need for communication. Moreover, in addition to reflecting that the Irish language is unprevalent among the common people, Joyce gives the example of the poor postman who could not read the address written in Irish to show the absurdity of this Irish fashion and his disagreement with the language revival. That Joyce does not have positive opinion about Irish language revival does not mean that he is comfortable with English. In his autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce reveals, through Stephen, the anguish over English, to him an acquired language from the colonizer: The language in which we are speaking is his before it is mine. How different are the words home, Christ, ale, master, on his lips and on mine! I cannot speak or write these words without unrest of spirits. His language, so familiar and so foreign, will always be for me an acquired speech. I have not made or accepted its words. My voice holds them at bay. My soul frets in the shadow of his language. (P 189) The passage shows the painful and inferior feeling of Stephen, who experiences his language to be the acquired one, instead of his mother tone. As T. P. Dolan says in The Language of Dubliners, what Stephen feels in this passage is that English

Su 64

language symbolizes the domination of Ireland by the people who spoke it as their native language. The vanquished Irish were compelled to speak it as subject people, and it became yet another mark of conquest (Dolan 27). Stephens painful and inferior feeling signifies Irelands miserable fate of being a colony and his resistance to the language of the oppressor. This resistance stands for the revolt against the imposed cultural baggage and English identity (Dolan 27). This painful and struggling feeling about English is also reflected in Dubliners. Joyce brings up the language issues in The Dead and A Mother. In the two stories, one can see how Irish intellectuals argue over the choice between English and Irish and how they manipulate the political implications in the language. In The Dead, Miss Ivors questions and satirizes Gabriel Conroys Irish background by asking havent you [Gabriel] your own language to keep in touch withIrish? However, Gabriel retorts with a blush that Irish is not his language (D 149). The language argument between Miss Ivors and Gabriel reflects Joyces sensibility to the language issue in Irish colonial condition. Gabriels struggle over his native language Irish and his acquired language English shows not only his embarrassment of being caught in-between but also Irish peoples difficult language choice over English and Irish. Because English has become the most prevalent language in Irish society under British rule, it is, for Irish people, a perpetual reminder of their unfamiliarity with their own native language and of their colonized status. Thus, as language is an important mark of identity, Gabriels predicament symbolically reflects the unstable national identification of Irish people (Connolly 316). In A Mother, Joyce mocks at the Irish language revival by revealing how Irish is used not for national identification but for personal interests. In the story, the Kearneys associate themselves with Nationalist friends and an Irish teacher to follow the trend of Irish Revival. By supporting language movement and saying Irish

Su 65

good-bye to their friends, they try to impose the image of Nationalist on themselves for any chance to gain profit from it, instead of truly believing in the Irish Nationalism (D 107). This explains the way Mrs. Kearney deals with her daughters music contract by saying to Mr. Holohan, she [her daughter] wont go on. She must get her eight guineas (D 113). Without any respect for the Irish concert or any regard for her daughters musical career, Mrs. Kearney haggles over every guinea by speaking for her daughter in the concert. They are not true believers in Irish language but merely love the benefit brought from their support for language movement. Irish language, therefore, becomes a tool for these Irish opportunists to win profits. The argument over languages in previous examples show that Irish language has been endowed with political implication. Joyces writing of language politics reveals the Irish colonial condition and political/social reality at that time. Under British colonial rule, English stands for the British colonial power while Irish means the identification with Ireland and even its backwardness and poverty. The politics behind the two languages forces Irish people to make choices between English and Irish. Therefore, there are Irish such as Miss Ivors speaking for her own language Irish, Gabriel refusing to recognize Irish as his mother tone and still those who make profits from the cleavage between the different identifications attached to the two languages. These characters, under Joyces portrayal, show the political choice and the sadness behind the choice that all Irish people would face. From Joyces writing in English in these stories, his literary style corresponds to the three characteristics with which Deleuze and Guattari define minor literature. A minor literature, as Deleuze and Guattari define, does not come from a minor language; it is rather that which a minority constructs within a major language (Deleuze 1598). The first feature of minor literature is that everything in the minor literatures is political. The second is that everything takes on a collective value

Su 66

(1598-9). The third characteristic is that in it language is affected with a high coefficient of deterritorialization (1598). Firstly, one can find in previous examples that Joyces writing of any language issue is political. These issues are arranged to show the Irish colonial predicaments. Then, the language politics deals with the common language problems in Ireland and reflects the collective consciousness of Irish people. As literature is the peoples concern in minor literature, Joyce grasps the collective value in Dubliners (1598). Thirdly, Joyce uses English to write the story of Irish people and his use of language is a form of deterritorialization. English is deterritorialized when spoken in Ireland. Irish who speak English is also deterritorialized since its not their language. Only in English can he voice his or the collective discontent about the English colonization and its language policy. In the meantime, through Joyces use of the language, English is no longer the English but Irish english.55 With these three features of minor literature, the political text, the text of collective will and English itself, Joyce shakes the British Empire constructed by English and the language policy of British government. However, how does Joyce shake the British Empire through English? In Dubliners, Joyce gives a great deal of thoughts on the linguistic structure in the English text. One can easily find the trace of linguistic Irishness in the stories written in ostensible English. Almost in every story of this work, Joyce adds the Gaelic elements such as Irish wording and Hiberno-English in his English text. In Dolans definition, Hiberno-English is the dialect of English used in Ireland. It is English, heavily coloured by Irish, in its vocabulary, syntax, idiom, and, of course, its pronunciation (Dolan 28). In many seemingly English sentences, Joyce combines

55

Irish english is given a term Hiberno-English. Hiberno-English, as TP. Dolan defines, is the dialect of English used in Ireland. It would be difficult to trace the origin of Hiberno-English since English was brought to Ireland early in the 12th century. Since then, English has been gradually influenced by Irish although the British government had attempted to ban the speaking of Irish.

Su 67

them with some Irish linguistic usages. This not only reflects the characteristics of English language in Ireland, but also hints that English is changed and deviated from within. There are many examples about the English language influenced by Irish, such as the use of Irish wording, Irish grammatical usage, and Irish daily phrases. As Dolan notes, Joyces use of Hiberno-English extends far beyond the matter of pronunciation (Dolan 30). What follows are examples of how Irish language affects English in the stories.56 First, the most obvious is the presence of Irish words. Joyce uses these words in many stories of Dubliners, deoc an doruis (Ir. drink of the door57) (D 60) Lamabaun! (Ir. pretty child) (D 64) gab (Ir. beak, snout) (D 74) barmbracks (Ir. speckled loaf) (D 76) shoneens (Ir. Little John [Bull]) (D 93) Usha (Ir. well, indeed) (D 95) moya (Ir. as if it were [ironic interjection]) (D 95) Feis Ceoil (Ir. Music Festival; annual competitive musical convention) (D 111) Then there are other grammatical distinctions. Hiberno-English (HE) uses the have form differently from Standard English. In HE, The participle is separated from the verb: When he has a drop taken (D 79) Ive a sup taken (D 92)
56

The information is gathered from TP Dolan, The Language of James Joyce James Joyce: The Artist and the Labyrinth. Ed. Augastine Martin. (London: Ryan Pub, 1990) 25-40 and Katie Wales, The Language of James Joyce (Hong Kong: MacMillan, 1992). 57 The translation is quoted from Explanatory Notes in James Joyce, Dubliners. Ed. with Introduction and notes. Jeri Johnson. (Great Britain: Oxford, 2000).

Su 68

Statements are often replaced by questions in Irish: He [Lenehan] wondered had Corley managed it successfully (D 43) He [Mr Duffy] asked himself what else could he have done (D 89) In Irish, the use of do + BE indicate habitual action, which in Standard English is expressed BE or BE + -ing. Joyce also records this usage in Grace: youre a good friend of his not like some of those he does be with. (D 120) Thirdly, Irish daily phrases in English vocabularies are still more. Show takes the place of give or hand as the example in Ivy Day show me one here (D 103) In medieval Irish, the word for God (Fiadha) was very similar in form to the word for deer (fiadh) and thus deer is used by Irish to avoid blasphemy. As the language develops, dear is sometimes replaced for deer for their resembled pronunciation. the dear knows (D 110) Other examples such as them taking place of those or using archaic vocabulary, such as oxter for armpit, are not left out in Joyces text. From these examples, one can find that Irish people have brought with them their own linguistic habits when they speak English. In Dubliners, Irish English is the main point in Joyces use of language to carry the political implications. These implications include that English is transformed by Irish and that the British Empire behind it is challenged by the uniqueness of Irish English. Although being compelled to speak English as their first language, Irish people have gaelicized English and made it extraordinarily local. Joyces use of Irish and Hiberno-English in his stories reflects that English language no longer appears as Standard English. With Joyces cunning use of language, the language does not play the neutral role but brings with it the political wrestling between the colonizer and the

Su 69

colonized. The embrace of Hiberno-English, from the characters Irish dialogues to grammatical structure of Irish, threatens the imperial center constructed by the language policy of the British state. Joyces use of Hiberno-English and Irish language within his English text corresponds to the processes of abrogation and appropriation discussed by Bill Ashcroft. In The Empire Writes Back, Ashcroft points out that post-colonial writing defines itself by seizing the language of the center and replacing it in a discourse fully adapted to the colonized place. After English becomes the official language of the colonized, it is integrated with local color to reflect the regional cultural background. Thus, English that used to stand for the empire, power, and standard is now replaced by local english (Ashcroft 38). There are two processes by which the local does this: the abrogation or denial of the privilege of English, and appropriation and reconstitution of the language of the centre: Abrogation is a refusal of the categories of the imperial culture, its aesthetic, its illusory standard of normative or correct usage and its assumption of a traditional and fixed meaning inscribed in the words Appropriation is the process by which the language is taken and made to bear the burden of ones own cultural experience. . . . Language is adopted as a tool and utilized in various ways to express widely differing cultural experiences. . . . This literature is therefore always written out of the tension between the abrogation of the received English which speaks from the center, and the act of appropriation which brings it under the influence of vernacular tongue. . . . (qtd. in , 130) In other words, post-colonial literature abrogates the English center and appropriates it to subvert the standard and bring out the local. Joyce adopts the two strategies of

Su 70

post-colonial literature. As Raja Rao puts it, using the colonial language is to convey in a language that is not ones own the spirit that is ones own (qtd. In Ashcroft 39). Joyce has Gaelic language/Hiberno-English permeate into English in the text and uses the colonial language to portray the life and stories of the colonized Ireland. This is also one of the differences between the language use of Joyce and that of Pai. Unlike Pai, who endows Mandarin with the quality of authenticity and authority that no other languages or dialects can replace in Taipei People, Joyce borrows or even imitates English to highlight the particularity of Irish language and identity. In the history of British colonization over Ireland, the language control has been an effective way for the British state to have Ireland internalize English culture and values. However, although Irish people gradually learn and adapt to the use of English, English language seems to be different from the normal way as it were under the acquisition of Irish people. Homi K. Bhabha has discussed the difference between the origin and the mimicry of the colonized. He discusses the idea of mimicry in The Location of Culture. Colonial mimicry, as Bhabha notes, is the desire for a reformed, recognizable Other, as a subject of a difference that is almost the same, but not quite (Bhabha 86). He also illustrates the connection between mimicry and the break of colonial power: The discourse of mimicry is constructed around an ambivalence; in order to be effective, mimicry must continually produce its slippery, its excess, its difference. The authority of that mode of colonial discourseis therefore stricken by an indeterminacy: mimicry emerges as the representation of a difference that is itself a process of disavowal. Mimicry is, thus the sign of a double articulation. . . . Mimicry is also the sign of the inappropriate, however, a difference or recalcitrance which coheres the dominant strategic function of colonial power, intensifies surveillance, and

Su 71

poses an immanent threat to both normalized knowledges and disciplinary powers. (italics added, Bhabha 86) In other words, the colonized people can articulate their disavowal and non-identification with the colonial power through the ambivalent mimicry or the difference that is almost the same, but not quite. In Dubliners, Joyce uses English to write the stories; however, with his arrangement, the Gaelic elements are woven into the text, especially Hiberno-English. Although Hiberno-English takes the form of English, its syntax, idioms, and vocabulary reflect the features of Irish language. As the discourse of mimicry is constructed around ambivalence, Joyce subtly presents the difference or the ambivalence between the Standard English and Hiberno-English in the stories. This kind of mimicry is another form of disavowal and mockery. The mimicry in Joyces Hiberno English manifests his intention of shouting out his non-identification with and revolt against the British Empire. With Joyces manipulation of language, speaking English is not merely a symbol of British colonization in Ireland, but also a tool for the Irish to subvert the English center from within, through all kinds of different ways to mimic and appropriate English language. As for the language strategy in the two works, Joyces treatment of language is quite different from Pais. In Taipei People, Mandarin is given the characteristics of calmness, authenticity and authoritativeness. Pais use of dialects such as Shanghai or Taiwanese dialects cannot shake the status of Mandarin. Furthermore, language hierarchy reveals itself when Pai allots different appearances to certain languages. Taiwanese is used only when the miserable Taiwanese characters appear, while Mandarin always plays the role of a powerful and unquestionable narrator. In Dubliners, however, Joyce deals differently with local dialects. He arranges Irish words and Hiberno-English in various corners of the English text. Although English

Su 72

ostensibly dominates the whole novel, the Irish feature actually has influence and control over how the language is spoken. Irish language permeates into almost every part of English, and this rots down the English center from its core. Comparing and contrasting their language strategies, one should find that though both using the dominators language, Pai constructs a Chinese center in Taiwan while Joyce overthrows the English empire with the Irish style of appropriation and mimicry.

Su 73

Chapter Three: Clothing After the study of language policies in the two novels in the previous chapter, it is beneficial to analyze another outwardly expressive implement, clothing, to examine the issue of national identity. In Dubliners and Taipei People, both Joyce and Pai take notice of the clothing on characters. Indeed, clothing is effective in constructing characters personality as well as certain circumstances. Judging from the way characters choose their clothing and dress themselves up, readers can judge these characters personal backgrounds, social status, religious belief, cultural and national identifications. The authors also use certain kind of clothing to emphasize the significance of some occasions. Moreover, the social and historical context of the stories can be reflected on the clothing of the characters. What people put on themselves thus shows the most detailed information about their cultural and national identity. From the aspect of clothing, one can attain a better idea about the national identification of people in Ireland and Taiwan. I. The Definition of Clothing Before we look into the detail of the clothing in a society, we should know its definition. According to Susan B. Kaiser, the term clothing refers to any tangible or material object connected to the human body. This definition encompasses such items as pants, skirts, tops, and other related body coverings. [. . .] it will also include material items often thought of as accessoriesshoes, gloves, hats, bows, ties, jewelry, and the like. Clothing, then, applies to those objects that we obtain (by buying, receiving, or constructing) and attach to or wear on our bodies. (Kaiser 1990, 5) Based on Kaisers inclusive definition, my later discussion about clothing will include details from the clothing materials to accessories. Clothing is the most apparent item that shows the fashion style in a society, since

Su 74

it is defined as any body covering (Kaiser 1985, 6). Many socialists have considered clothing as an important part of a culture. As Amy Latour notes, fashion is the outward and visible sign of a civilization; it is part of social history(quoted in , 6). Fred Davis points out that clothing has cultural meanings(13). Diana Crane also regards clothing as a strategic site for studying changes in the meanings of cultural goods in relation to changes in social structures(22). From these studies, one can see that clothing to some extent reflects the culture of a society. Through the details of shirts, pants, hats, neckties, or jewelry, one is able to learn the cultural features and social changes in a society. The thoughts and identification of people in this society can thus be unfolded. Since clothing shows the cultural features of a society, the cultural identity of its people can also be reflected by what they choose to wear.58 Cultural identity, as Stuart Hall defines, is one shared culture, a sort of collective one true self, which hides inside many other selves, which people with a shared history and ancestry hold in common (Hall 234). Clothing is a part of cultural and social developments in a society. The way the people in this society choose to wear, therefore, contains the significance of their identification with the shared culture and its history. This kind of clothing then turns out to be a shared cultural code[s] that encodes them as one people, with stable, unchanging, and continuous frames of reference and meaning (Hall 234). This cultural code in Ireland and Taiwan, where the native people are ruled by a political force that originates from other cultures, can be a symbolic emblem of the national identity of the subordinate. Therefore, from the aspect of clothing, I would like to explore how the cultural and national identification of the characters in Dubliners and Taipei People is presented by the two authors.

58

The relation between the cultural and national identification will be discussed later in this part of this chapter.

Su 75

In addition, clothing also serves as a way of communication. Clothing serves as the nonverbal system of communication that reflects the wearers personal and social status (Lurie 3). As Alison Lurie notes in The Language of Clothes, for thousand of years human beings have communicated with one another in the language of dress. . . . By the time we meet and converse we have already spoken to each other in an old, and more universal tongue. (Lurie 3) This communicative effect is instantaneous because clothing shapes the most outward appearance when people have contact with one another. Through the act of wearing, clothing expresses the wearers social conditions such as class, personal background and identification with him/herself and the society. Diana Crane puts it right, Clothing as a form of symbolic communication was enormously important. . . as a means of conveying information about the wearers social role, social standing, and personal character (100). With the communicative characteristic that reveals the wearers social status, what the clothing reflects and how it is used by author, to a certain degree, echo the previous two subjects in this thesis, the class and language. In this way, while this chapter focuses on national identification reflected by clothing, it can also evidence my observation in the previous chapters of Class and Language. For the clothing styles in Dubliners and Taipei People, both Joyce and Pai have made good use of the clothing, although the fashion style, textile material and the dressing habits in Dublin and Taiwan are widely different and can hardly be compared or contrasted at the same level. As clothing works as nonverbal communication, it can sometimes be subjective to judge the meanings in what people choose to wear. However, if one centers on the context of the clothing, namely, the culture of a society and the authors use of it to create their characters, one would obtain a more objective

Su 76

message from the authors. In this way, I will also have a study on the cultural meaning of certain clothing to see how the cultural identification can have influence upon national identity. II. Clothing in Taipei People Clothing, like languages, conveys various information of the wearers. What people wear is more expressive when it is written down into words by an author. In Taipei People, the clothing varies with the disparate background of different characters. Due to the large gap between the rich and the poor after the Second World War, clothing of the characters can immediately speak for the economic situation and the social status of these people since clothing is directly related to the ability to purchase. Moreover, to construct the various backgrounds of his characters, Pai pays much attention to the portrayal of material, style and ornaments on their clothes. Therefore, the class difference shown by clothing is obvious and cannot be ignored. In this part of the chapter, I would like to study the ways Pai makes use of clothing. I will begin with Pais treatment of clothing as nonverbal communication, and then the implication of social class and economy in Pais portrayal of the clothes to observe its potential effects upon the characters cultural and national identification. In the text, there are mainly three functions in Pais use of clothing. In the first place, the same as Mandarin is used in Taipei People, clothing serves as a way to communicate. Secondly, because it is outwardly expressive, clothing can be the witness to Taiwanese social classes that are observed in Chapter One. Thirdly, Pai connects clothing with characters personality and reveals the cultural and national implications through this connection. In this way, or the fourth, the clothing choices of characters manifest their cultural and national identification. In Taipei People, Pai seems to use the way he deals with Mandarin on his treatment of clothing and makes use of the expressive feature of the clothing to reflect

Su 77

the issue of identification. In the previous chapter, I have mentioned that Pais use of words is very elegant and refined in writing Chinese language. With his adept writing skill, Mandarin, one of the dialects of the Chinese language, stands out as the most polished and beautifully-embellished one. Mandarin is provided with the characteristics of authenticity and authority and becomes the official language in Taipei People. Clothing, featured as nonverbal communication, is dealt with by Pai in a similar way. Pai focuses on the Chinese traditional dress as the only formal and fashionable dress in Taiwanese society, especially cheongsam59, and mostly embellishes it with fine color or exquisite decorations. Moreover, he puts these elegant cheongsams on all the dressed-up women in the novel. Chi-pao [] appears to be the only formal style for the dancing girls in The Last Night of Taipan Chin, prostitutes in Loves Lone Flower, and the generals wives in Autumn Reveries and Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream.60 In The Eternal Snow Beauty, one can see that cheongsam is formally and exquisitely decorated on the courtesan, Yin Hsueh-yen. That evening, Yin Hsueh-yen had taken extra care to dress elegantly. She wore a short-sleeved chi-pao of moon-white brocade fastened with a row of large round frogs the color of ivory. On her feet were soft-soled shoes of white satin embroidered at the toes with flesh-tinted begonia petals. To attract good fortune, for once she wore a blood-red tulip the size of a little winecup at her right temple, and long silver pendants hung from her ears. (TP 20) Cheongsam here is used for an occasion when Yin would need other delicate ornaments. There are beautiful decorations on it and other adornments to go with.
59 60

Cheongsam: A kind of Chinese traditional dress, [chi-pao].. Chi-pao: The term is equal to cheongsam. I use this word in this thesis because it can be seen in my quotation of Pais text.

Su 78

This shows that cheongsam is considered a formal dress for occasions and it needs other expensive and delicate ornaments to go with. Another example of decorated cheongsam is found on Madame Hua in Autum Reveries, who prepares chi-pao of Indian silk, black wavy designs on a royal blue ground for her mah-jong date (TP 300). Mrs. Liu in New Years Eve wears the new chi-pao embroidered with clusters of purple flowers for the coming new year (TP 82). In these examples, cheongsams on the ladies are all delicately made with fine cloth and decorated with exquisite embroideries and luxurious ornaments. This shows that cheongsam is both a formal and fashionable dressing style at that time. With the dressed-up ladies who all wear beautiful cheongsams in Taipei People, it seems that this type of dress is the one and only style for formal occasions. However, according to Yeh Le-chang, cheongsam as well as the western style of dress were two main streams as the formal and fashionable dress for Taiwanese females in 1950s ( 126).61 Cheongsam had become fashionable for the third time in Taiwan at that time, while the western style of dress, due to Taiwans background of previous Japanese colonization and American influence upon Taiwan, was also popular among women in Taiwan, whether for Taiwanese or for forty-niners.62 This situation was the same with the males dress. As Yeh Le-chang notes, the western style suit was the common formal dress for the male of both Taiwanese and forty-niners in Taiwan(124). Nevertheless, the co-existence of the western style and Chinese traditional style (including chi-pao for
61 62

My translation. For the third time: according to Yeh Le-chang, the first time that cheongsam became fashionable was in 1930s. The second time was after Taiwans restoration to R.O.C. The third time was brought by the forty-niners after they retreated to Taiwan in 1949 ( 74). Japanese colonization: under Japanese colonization, Taiwanese were forced to accept Japanese clothing as well as the western style dress because Japan had already been a deeply westernized country. Through the control of clothing, Japanese tried to cut off the cultural connection between Taiwan and China. American influence: according to Yeh Le-chang, United States had provided Taiwan the economical aid in 1950s, which had great influence upon the development of Taiwans textile industry as well as Taiwanese peoples dressing habit and style (128).

Su 79

women and Sun Yat-sen tunic [] for men) in 1950s is not shown or is just slightly touched on in Pais portrait of clothing in Taipei People. Apart from the cheongsam that is on every dressed-up woman, the military suit and SunYat-sen tunic are major dresses for the male characters (forty-niners) in the novel. Western suit appears only once on a minor character in The Dirge of Liang Fu and is only slightly touched on. Although the Chinese traditional/national clothing were indeed fashionable and formal wear in 1950s, which indicates that Pai was aware of the fashion in Taiwan, the western style of dress, another fashionable dress, was disregarded in Taipei People. This indicates Pais intention to portray the Chinese traditional dress as the only authentic dress for formal occasions. This emphasis on Chinese traditional dress echoes his arrangement of Mandarin discussed in Chapter Two. Moreover, as the western style of dress is the style that Japanese had endeavored to make democratized in Taiwan, the negligence of this style of dress can turn the cultural implication of the Chinese dress into that of national identification, under the political context at that time when Taiwan was just returned from Japan to R.O.C. ( 118). In this way, clothing indeed speaks for both the cultural and national identification of the characters and even the author. Moreover, clothing also witnesses the distribution of social classes of forty-niners and native Taiwanese. In Chapter One, I have discussed that the upper and middle classes are mostly occupied by the forty-niners while the native Taiwanese can only stay in the lowest level of society in Taipei People. From Pais description of clothing, one can clearly read the rich lives of the upper class and the struggle of Taiwanese people. In the stories, Yin Hsueh-yen is an eminent courtesan moving from China to Taipei, while Madame Hua is the wife of a general, who used to fight for R.O.C. in World War Two. Their cheongsams reveal not only the contemporary fashion style, but also the costly fabrics, delicate embroidery, and the distinguished

Su 80

social class of the wearers. Yins brocade chi-pao and Huas with imported Indian silk suggest that they belong to the higher social class that can afford the fabrics (TP 20, 300). In another story Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream, the whole dress-up of Madame Tou, the wife of an official who follows KMT to Taiwan after the war, even shows the luxurious life of the upper class. Madame Tou was wearing a chi-pao of silver gray chiffon dusted with vermilion spangles and matching silver high heels. The ring finger of her right hand bore a diamond as big as a lotus seed, and a platinum bracelet studded with tiny diamonds twisted around her left wrist. A crescent-shaped coral pin held her hair; a pair of inch-long purple jade earrings hung below, setting off her full, pale face and making it look all the more aristocratic and dignified. (TP 332-4) From this paragraph, readers can imagine that Madame Tou is shiningly and luxuriously dressed up. What especially catch readers eyes are the shining decorations and chiffon textile on her cheongsam with invaluable huge diamond and other precious ornaments to go with. It is inevitable for readers to associate these clothing details with the high social background of Madame Tou, who can move to Taiwan and still lead a luxurious life. In these examples of the splendid and sumptuous clothing of Yin Hsueh-yen, Madame Hua and Madame Tou, one can read the common background that they share: they are forty-niners moving from China to Taiwan, and they all live the life of the upper class after settling in Taipei. The dressing and all the ornaments on these ladies can hardly be found on any native Taiwanese women. It is because they, in Pais portrayal, all belong to the lowest level of social class. This does not mean that these Taiwanese characters are the only group that belongs to this level of social class. In Chapter One, it is mentioned that still many forty-niners, who came to Taiwan because of wars, spent all their

Su 81

life-savings and fell into the working class. However, Pais treatment of the clothing of Taiwanese characters and the poor forty-niners in the lower class is different. For the poor forty-niners, Pai emphasizes the difficulties in their life. Their clothes are the cotton-padded jacket of coarse blue cloth and their dressing style is more practical-concerned as a long, loose black sweater of heavy wool that hung down to [her] knees or the thick and heavy padded gown (TP 181, 178, 386).63 Contrarily, the clothing of the native Taiwanese women is given little attention and is seldom or vaguely mentioned. There are four Taiwanese characters in total and all of them are female. Only three of them are mentioned about the way they dress: Dainty in Loves Lone Flower wears the black satin cheongsam with a small white cape, and both Happy in A Sea of Blood-red Azaleas and Spring Maid in Glorys by Blossom Bridge are big-breasted women with their flesh jiggling and wear wooden clogs (TP 234, 160, 282). From Pais portrayal of clothing on these Taiwanese women, one can find that they are dressed not only poorly but also vulgarly, which is very different from the practical and industrious image of the poor forty-niners or the elegant appearance of the rich forty-niners in the text. This difference shows the Chinese center in Pais arrangement in clothing even more. Thirdly, Pai associates the characters personality with different clothing on his characters. In the stories, clothing is an important tool for Pai to construct the personality of his characters. For the Taiwanese women in Taipei People, their appearances are endowed with different personalities. From the clothing and the personality constructed, one is likely to read the hidden attitude that Pai has toward Taiwanese people, Chinese culture and the Chinese political force in Taiwan. In Glorys by Blossom Bridge, Dainty, a docile Taiwanese prostitute girl, wears a

63

long, loose black sweater: According to Yeh Le-chang (), long sweater or jacket was a style brought in to Taiwan by the coming forty-niners who followed KMTs retreat.

Su 82

black satin cheongsam with a small white cape as her working dress (TP 234). It seems quite understandable that Dainty docilely follows the trend and wears one as her working dress to attract more customers. Yet, this Taiwanese girl is portrayed to be unusually passive and submissive: Id never seen a winehouse girl allow herself to be pushed around so easily. [. . .] But Peach Blossom [Dainty] just let those Japanese push her around and pour wine down her throat. She didnt resist, she didnt even protest; after each cup shed smack her lips and smile helplessly. (TP 236) In this passage, Number Six narrates her surprise about Daintys submission to all customers demands. Moreover, the cheongsam that she wears to work is not only a fashionable emblem, but also the Chinese traditional dress, which was developed from the Chin dynasty. According to Zhou Xun, cheongsam was widely worn after 1920s and became the major dress of Chinese women after numerous improvements ( 215). Brought to Taiwan after Taiwans restoration to R.O.C. and KMTs retreat to Taiwan, cheongsam replaces Japanese kimono and becomes the symbolic dress of Chinese culture for Taiwanese people, which makes chi-pao a Chinese cultural code. With the particularly docile personality, this Taiwanese girl, Dainty refuses neither the Chinese label on her nor Japaneses taking advantage of her. Such a submissive Taiwanese girl, though born with low status and miserable fate as most Taiwanese people were at that time, is arranged by Pai to be able to have revenge on the man who bullies her the most. For Daintys helpless and defenseless acceptance of her lot, Pai expresses his compassion for her between the lines. This compassion, however, is based on Daintys submission to the Chinese and Japanese powers, rather than on her low status and miserable fate. Although Pai is indeed sympathetic for Dainty and arranges her killing Yama as the revenge and recompense, which Pai himself calls the authors

Su 83

conscience, he has different attitude toward other Taiwanese women who have the similar low status but refuse to yield to their fate (Pai , 149). Both Happy in A Sea of Blood-red Azaleas and Spring Maid in Glorys by Blossom Bridge are Taiwanese female laborers. Under Pais portrayal, the descriptions about their appearances and behaviors are highly similar. They are both full in figure and their status in the low social class does not make them conservative or hinder them from wearing skintight clothes and revealing their jiggling flesh (TP 160, 282). Moreover, they both wear wooden clogs, a shoe style left in Taiwan since Japanese colonization. Their skintight clothes, jiggling flesh and the way they make themselves seductive with come-on smile and bedroom eyes show their wild unruliness (TP 160, 282). Their wooden clogs even strongly suggest that they pay no respect to any restrictions. Because wooden clogs were a part of accessories in Japanese kimono, the Japanese traditional dress, the clogs were restricted as KMT tried to eliminate the remaining Japanese cultural influence.64 The two Taiwanese women in wooden clogs symbolically show that they refuse to submit to any control or identification with Chinese culture in Taipei People, though they may not truly have identification with any culture and wooden clogs are simply part of their life. Although Pai is sympathetic for the poor Taiwanese girl Dainty, he does not seem to feel the same for Happy and Spring Maid, who belong equally to the lowest social status. At the end of the two stories, he makes Happy raped by a reminiscent forty-niner and Spring Maid a faithless cheater. From the suggestions of clothing details and descriptions of Taiwanese women, one can find that clothing portrayed on the characters shows the authors notes of cultural and

64

restrictions: According to Yeh Le-chang, wooden clogs were prohibited for the restoration of Chinese culture in Taiwan right after Taiwans return to R.O.C. ( , 74). KMT passed the restriction that students were prohibited from wearing wood clogs in school in Oct. 19th, 1946.

Su 84

national identification. Fourth, Pai also makes the connection between the clothing choice and the cultural/national identification behind the choice, especially on forty-niner characters. In Taipei People, one can see that the way the characters choose their dress is closely related to how they define themselves and identify with their nation. For this group of people were forced to leave their home and settle to build another in Taiwan, their yearnings for the past in China can be easily reflected upon the way they live their life in Taiwan. Their clothing choice is the most detectable about how they look on their past and feel for the present. In Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream, Madame Chien mentions the new chi-pao style in Taipei, her [Madame Chien] dressmaker had been right after all: In Taipei, the long chi-pao has gone out of fashion. Everyone sitting here, including that old Madame Lai, her face so wrinkled it looked like chicken skin, had the hem of her gown almost to her knees, exposing a good half of her legs. In the Nanking days, a ladys gown was so long it almost touched her feet. She was sorry she hadnt listened to her tailor; she wondered whether she wouldnt look ridiculous in front of all these people if she stood up later in this long gown. (TP 344) From this passage, one can see that Madame Chien is aware of the change of chi-paos style in Taipei before she went to Madame Tous party. The fashion of long chi-pao in Nanking has faded out and been replaced by a shorter style of cheongsam after it was brought to Taiwan. However, she still chooses to dress in the long gown of Nankings old fashion to the party. This shows that Chien has difficulty giving up her past in China and cannot heartily accept her life in Taiwan, or even follow the fashion. Moreover, the fact that she was unwilling to let go of the past is apparent when she found the emerald green Hangshow [] silk chi-pao on her looking dull and

Su 85

dark in front of the oval pier glass in Tous front room. The dimmed color of her dress symbolically signifies the lost prosperity of the past but her doubt Could it really have faded? reveals her reluctance to accept what she saw (TP 332). When the idea of buying a new one comes up, her hesitant and questioning attitude toward Taiwanese textile shows not only her attachment to the past, but also her identification with Mainland China, instead of Taiwan: somehow she always thought Taiwan materials coarse and flashy; they hurt your eyes, especially the silks. How could they compare with Mainland goodsso fine, so soft (TP 332). In Taipei People, the cultural connotation in clothing often reflects characters cultural identification. One of the most conspicuous cultural connotations in clothing appears in Winter Night. Wu Chu-kuo [] used to be one of the students in Chinese May Fourth Movement. When the war broke out, he was studying in the United States and later became a professor there. In the story, as he comes back to Taiwan for an academic purpose and pays a visit to his old friend Professor Y, he exposes his Chinese jacket of padded silk after he takes off the black woolen overcoat. As a scholar returning from abroad, Wu is dressed in the western style exteriorly. He puts on a black woolen overcoat and wears a pair of silver-rimmed glasses with pipe in hand. However, his Chinese jacket underneath illustrates his true cultural belonging. This Chinese jacket also implies that no matter how Wu clothes or disguises himself, it is the Chinese culture with which he is identified the most. The cultural identification, when placed under Taiwans political circumstance with KMT as the new government, becomes the national identification. After the World War Two, KMT, the government claims to be the sole successor of Chinese culture and Chinese legitimate regime. In contrast to the Japanese culture that predominated Taiwans society before the war, Chinese culture or the identification of it can become a political issue and the problem of national identity. In The Dirge of

Su 86

Liang Fu, the clothing of General Pu suggests his Chinese cultural identification: The older man [Pu] was attired in a long black satin gown figured with darker, round designs and shoes of black flannel (TP 198). Long gowns or the so-called Sun Yat-sen tunic are the Chinese traditional dress for men. At the storys time when the western suits have been democratized, General Pus black long gown particularly manifests the cultural meaning of the clothing itself and the wearers cultural background and identification.65 Moreover, Pus dress is embedded with political implication for his participation in the founding of R.O.C.. He wears long gown because he is identified with the country he founded and thus the government KMT. He chooses Chinese style for his dress not only in memory of his glorious past in Chinese history but also in identification of his nation. In Pais portrayal of clothing, one is likely to see the implied cultural and political issues. In Taipei People, he uses the same way as he deals with Mandarin to portray characters clothing in order to construct the same Chinese center. He also reflects Taiwanese society with clothing and reveals his cultural and national identity in the connection between the clothing and characters personality. Also, characters choices of clothing are illustrated to imply the cultural and national identification. With these directions in his portrayal of clothing, Pais stories reflect not just the forty-niners lives in Taiwanese society but the society in his eyes. In the novel, he writes about many beautifully and delicately made cheongsams. When the dignified ladies who had a glorious but fading past in China wear these costly cheongsams in Taipei, the Chinese cultural connotation behind these cheongsams reflects their clinging to the old memories and the pain in their life in Taipei. With Pais sentimental description of these ladies dress, the part of China is full of romantic and melancholic
65

Western suit: According to Yeh Le-chang, the Western suit has become the formal dress for both forty-niners and native Taiwanese after 1949 ( 124). This reflects the great influence of the western culture.

Su 87

emotions. Compared with the precious dresses and the sorrowful past of the forty-niners, the vulgarness in skintight clothes, jingling flesh and the pounding wooden clogs of native Taiwanese women is up to no good (TP 160, 282, 284). From the sharp contrast of Pais description between the clothing of forty-niners and Taiwanese women, readers are able to read the characters cultural and national identification with China as well as Pais own sympathy with the forty-niners.66 III. Clothing in Dubliners As clothing has the function of communication as a language does, it is one of the most useful implements for Joyce to write about Dubliners in the Irish society. For clothing discloses personal information as soon as people have contact face to face, what they wear and how they dress themselves can directly reflect the way they present themselves and what they are identified with. In this way, clothing is very helpful for Joyce to write the moral history of the people in Dublin and to convey subtle messages with his style of scrupulous meanness (Letters II, 134). In Joyces Dubliners, readers can find abundant information from the clothing details of the characters. Moreover, different from the postwar Taiwanese society in Taipei People, Irish society is much stratified, and the hegemony constructed by the British State is relatively more integrated as Ireland had been colonized for centuries. The history of colonization in Ireland is inevitably reflected on the clothing style or fashion trend in Irish society. Comparing with the four directions in Pais treatment of characters dress as I have observed in the previous part, I would like to begin with the discussion of Joyces use of clothing. Then from the clothing difference in the disparate classes in Irish society, what will be studied is Dubliners attitude toward their own social class and their identification with Irish nation under the influence of British
66

Pai once mentioned he was sympathized with the forty-niners such as Mr. Lu and Wang Hsiung in Taipei People and their passion for their past lives. This can be found in 2001, 30 (2): 189-200

Su 88

hegemony. In the first place, Joyce uses both language and clothing for communication as Pai does. However, different from Pais strategy on clothing, Joyce uses clothing as the supplement to his narrative. He uses clothing to show the interaction between employees and employers, the indication of the characters social and economic status, or the in/direct revealing of characters purpose behind certain actions. In Counterparts, Joyce subtly depicts the interaction between Farrington and the chief clerk in the office through description of the hats. As Farrington tries to go out to have a drink in the midst of his work, the chief clerk does not say anything to stop him, seeing the row complete at the hat-rack (D 67). After leaving the office, Farrington quickly pulls another cap out of his pocket, puts it on his head and walks into a snug. After he finishes his drink and goes back to the office, Farrington crams his cap back into his pocket again and pretends that nothing happened. In the story, the hats at the hat-rack become the indication of employees attendance for the chief clerk. Farringtons preparatory cap in his pocket shows that he is clear about the use of these hats and knows how to escape with a cover-up. In this way, the cold atmosphere in the office and Farringtons wily and indolent personality are subtly revealed. Another example can be seen in A Mother. When Mrs. Kearney arrives at her daughters concert, she feels displeased because [a] few young men, wearing bright blue badges in their coats, [stand] idle in the vestibule; none of them [wear] evening dress (D 108). Evening suits were considered as the formal suits for middle-class gentlemen at the storys time (Dunlevy 148-50). That none of the young men wear evening dress indicates that the concert is not taken seriously, which is an offence to the mother who tries hard to win her daughter credit in the concert. Thus in the story, Joyces use of clothing easily portrays Mrs. Kearneys attitude toward the concert and the real situation she faced.

Su 89

Apart from shaping the characters personality and surroundings with clothing, Joyce also reveals the economic situation and social status of the characters by describing what they wear and how they fashion themselves. As David Pierce observes, he [Joyce] is an expert at rendering class differences in terms of dress, accent. . . . (italics added, 92). Dress is one of the principal ways that Joyce uses to present the class issue in Dubliners. This is the same with the use of clothing in Taipei People. However, compared with Pais obvious depiction of the economic situation on the characters clothing, Joyce is relatively more subtle and careful with the class issue presented through clothing details and the psychology of characters. In Two Gallants, the servant girl, or the fine tart, dresses herself up for the date with Corley (D 41). She had her Sunday finery on. Her Blue serge skirt was held at the waist by a belt of black leather. The great silver buckle of her belt seemed to depress the centre of her body, catching the light stuff of her white blouse like a clip. She wore a short black jacket with mother-of-pearl buttons and a ragged black boa. (41) From the colorful clothing and accessories, it is obvious that the girl dresses in a fashionable style. According to Franois Boucher, the colors in vogue were more vivid after 1868 (396). However, the ragged black boa on her implies her limited financial ability. Under Joyces arrangement, her fashionable but tawdry clothing subtly corresponds to the dressing style of servant girls or prostitutes at that time. It is the servant girls because they work for the upper or middle classes and have more chances to catch on the latest fashion, and the prostitutes because according to Boucher, the fashion tone was set by High Society, but was exemplified equally by the great ladies of the demi-monde (388). Therefore, Joyces implication of the girls social position from her clothing is quite obvious. The similar fashion show happens

Su 90

in Counterparts. Miss Delacour comes to the office to visit Mr. Alleyne, wearing a hat with great black feather and carrying an umbrella with her. When Farrington comes back from a bar and sees her, he tucks his cap back into his pocket and enters the office. From their clothing details, one is likely to have the idea about the economic situation and the social class of Miss Delacour and Farrington. The adornments on the hat of Miss Delacour are common fashion to the wealthy ladies at Joyces time.67 Moreover, according to Boucher, the cap with various shapes was the working class headgear in the second half of the nineteenth century (402). With Joyces subtle portrayal, the description of the characters clothing is not just the dispensable information but an important reference to the wearers social status. Second, in Dubliners, the watchers gazes are often found to be cast on trendy garments or accessories. This reveals their admiration for the fashion of the upper class.68 In Dubliners, clothing also carries the code of social class. The psychological purpose for one to wear fashionable clothes is to attain watchers attention and appreciation for either social and economical status or personal taste. As the watchers pay their admiration through their gaze, they not only satisfy the wearers vanity but also approve and accept the fashion and the worth of it. Under the complex Irish social and political background, this kind of admiration and acceptance would result in the imitation of fashion, which could have influence on the construction and
67

The adornments: according to Dunlevy, the umbrella was in the list of a married woman (158). Hats grew larger and were decorated with feathers, flowers or ribbon from 1885 to 1900, according to Boucher (397). 68 watchers gaze: The fashion reflected by the characters clothing attracts peoples eyes. The gaze upon a fashion show implies the complicated human psychology. David Galef has discussed the notion of the gaze in The Fashion Show in Ulysses. He mentions Freuds definition of the gaze as the sexual desire for mastery over the subject (429). This gaze of the sexual desire can also be seen in the previous examples of Dubliners. In Two Gallants, as the servant girl appears in her fine dress, Lenehans eyes noted approvingly her stout short muscular body (41). The sexual connotation in his eyes is obvious from his ocular lingering on her body. In Counterparts, when the unnamed woman appears in the bar, wearing a fashionable round hat wound with big scarf of peacock-blue muslin, Farrington notices her and her bright yellow gloves, and [gazes] admiringly at the plump arm which she moved very often and with much grace (73). His gaze moving from the womans hat to her plump arm indicates that his sexual desire for the womans body is drawn forth and revealed from the stare of clothing.

Su 91

maintenance of cultural and the consequent national identification. Imitation, in Georg Simmels theory, is one of the most important characteristics of fashion. According to Simmel, fashion is the imitation of a given example and satisfies the demand for social adaptation (296). One is considered to follow the fashion if he/she imitates and wears dressing style of the fashion mode. Moreover, clothing was the primary means for people to show externally the social classes to which they belong in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Crane 1). Therefore, the imitation of clothing and fashion is usually brought up along with the discussion of the interactions between social classes. In Dubliners, readers can also see the envious gaze and the psychology of imitation. In A Little Cloud, Little Chandler has a get-together with Ignatius Gallaher, a friend who comes back to Ireland from England. As Gallaher, who appears in an orange tie, chats with him about the life in London and Paris, Little Chandler looks enviously at his friend and his personal charm under the new gaudy manner (D 58). Little Chandlers envious gaze upon his friends gaudy appearance reflects not just his notice of the fashion style on his friend, but also his admiration for the lifestyle of wearing gaudy dress and the orange tie, a symbolic color of British connection. Therefore, after the meeting as he returns to his house, Little Chandler thinks about the voluptuous Jewesses that Gallaher has mentioned, who is a big contrast to his wife Annie with pale blue blouse on in the picture, wondering whether he could live bravely as Gallaher did in the future (D 63). The color pale blue symbolically represents the color white (pale) and blue, which are the colors of the Virgin, observed and contemplated by Bloom in Ulysses (Osullivan 7). Moreover, pale also implies lifelessness, and hence echoes the theme of paralysis. From Little Chandlers later desire for the luscious and resentment against the virtuous, one can see his aroused longing for Gallahers luxurious lifestyle. Through the imitation of the fashionable clothing style, the social/economic

Su 92

values behind the clothing are also copied. In The Dead, as Mrs. Conroy chats with Aunt Kate and Julia, she mentions the goloshes, the latest shoe style. After a pause she [Aunt Julia] asked: And what are goloshes, Gabriel? Goloshes, Julia! exclaimed her sister. Goodness me, dont you know what goloshes are? You wear them over your . . . over your boots, Gretta, isnt it? Yes, said Mrs Conroy. Guttapercha things. We both have a pair now. Gabriel says everyone wears them on the continent. O, on the continent, murmured Aunt Julia, nodding her head slowly. Gabriel knitted his brows and said, as if he were slightly angered: Its nothing very wonderful but Gretta thinks it very funny because she says the word reminds her of Christy Minstrels. (italics added, D 142) In the dialogue, one can understand that goloshes are the fashionable shoes style on the continent. Moreover, in Grettas recount of Gabriels introduction of the shoes, it seems that the continental background of the goloshes matters more than their practical use for Gabriel. This, therefore, implies Gabriels admiration toward the continent and clothing from there. Also, the fact that Gabriel degrades goloshes as nothing very wonderful reflects his awareness of the awkwardness to show his preference of the continent in front of the Irish people. The awkwardness results from the complex political background, the colonial status of Ireland and Gabriels complex psychology toward Ireland. Having the education influenced by British and cultural experience influenced by the continent, Gabriel feels complicated about Ireland. As a native Irish, he should resist all the outward influences that consolidate Irelands colonized status. However, although Gabriel is aware of the fact that goloshes represent the continent, he cannot escape the hegemony that has constructed in Ireland.

Su 93

Goloshes suggest Gabriels ambivalent attitude to Ireland. Goloshes from the continent imply not only the taste that is superior to the one in Ireland but also an escape for Gabriel, who feels entrapped by his own country and the British ruler. The continent is a possible way for him to get away from these paralyzing forces. With the goloshes as an augury, readers are not surprised to read Gabriels remarks in his later argument with Miss Ivors, Im sick of my own country, sick of it (D 149)! Thirdly, cultural and political identifications are closely connected in clothing of Dubliners. Clothing is both very cultural and personal on the issue of identification. For the complicated background in both Ireland and Taiwan, the choice of clothing can also be very political. As clothing is the product of the cultural and social development, one has good chances to find something that represents the local culture or reflects the important changes on the characters clothing in two novels, although Joyce does not particularly write about the traditional Irish attire as Pai does in Taipei People. Moreover, as the personal choice is the main reason for the way clothing is presented, how the characters dress themselves shows their cultural identification and their attitude toward the identification. As the cheongsam in Taipei People represents the Chinese culture brought from China, the clothing as the cultural code can also be found in many stories of Dubliners. In An Encounter, Mahony is mistaken as a Protestant because he wears the silver badge of a cricket club in his cap (D 13). Cricket was associated with the English and thus Protestants at Joyces time (Johnson 204). In Ivy Day in the Committee Room, both Mr. OConnor and Mr. Hynes wear an ivy leaf in the lapel of their coats. Ivy symbolizes remembrance of the Irish national hero, Charles Stewart Parnell (Johnson 246). In The Dead, Miss Ivors wears a low-cut bodice and the large brooch which was fixed in the front of her collar bore on it an Irish device (D 147). According to Terence Brown, Ivors dress is related to the Celtic revival of the 1880s onwards (309). Those who supported the

Su 94

autonomy and the Irish cultural movement were often puritanical in sexual matters, which may account for Ivors modest evening wear. As for the Irish device, it serves as a representation of Celtic culture and it is worn because the Celtic revival encouraged the self-conscious adoption of Celtic design in fashions and costume jewellery (Brown 309). In these examples, the accessories and the dressing style contain the cultural connotation or have symbolic meanings of the cultural revival in Ireland. Under the Irish colonial status, these symbols of the Celtic culture thus turn into that of Irish national identity in opposition to the British rule. Therefore, the choice of clothing becomes political, which makes the boy Mahony mistaken as the Swaddler and imposes the impressive image of an Irish Nationalist on Miss Ivors.69 In Dubliners, Joyce has more subtle observation than Pai does in the issue of identification reflected from clothing. In Taipei People, the clothing choice that Pai mentions is much simpler. The characters choose the Chinese style for their outfit out of the same reason, their homing desire.70 Moreover, Pais portrayal of cheongsam as the graceful and wooden clogs as the vulgar is much simplified for the classification of the two cultures. In contrast to Pais oversimplified classification of clothing choice, Joyce notices that Dubliners choice of clothing contains various symbolic meanings. Under Joyces portrayal, the characters free will in choosing clothing is particularly highlighted. This reflects not only some characters belief in or identification with the Celtic culture or Irish nation as Miss Ivors choice of dress, but also others thoughtful consideration to gain extra interests with the aid of their clothing. In A Mother, Mrs. Kearney makes use of the outward resources to construct the image of a Nationalist. For the possible interests out of the Irish Revival movement, she paves the way for her daughter Kathleen by giving her an Irish name, hiring an Irish teacher,

69 70

Swaddler: slang: Protestants, according to Jeri Johnsons explanatory notes. homing desire: See page 8 in Chapter One.

Su 95

joining her with Nationalist friends, and having her participate in a music concert of the Irish Revival in a fair appearance. Kathleen is dressed in a beautiful dress with blush-pink charmeuse that costs Mrs. Kearney a pretty penny and her thoughtfulness (D 108). In Mrs. Kearneys pursuit of the greater interests out of the concert, the efforts to construct the Nationalist image and the pretty penny spent on dignified clothing are just justifiable (D 108). For the Kearneys, attending a music concert of the Irish Revival in fine dress does not necessarily represent the true belief in Irish Nationalism. What they do in public is just the way to construct their public image. In this way, the image they construct on themselves looks no different from that of Miss Ivors in The Dead, who shows herself as a believer of Irish Nationalism with both the Irish device on her and her plain dress of the Irish style. Under Joyces portrayal, one can find that the cultural and national identification can be easily manipulated with a correct attire or appearance. In Dubliners, Joyce illustrates Irish peoples cultural and national identification behind their choice of clothing. Some characters such as Miss Ivors, Mr. OConnor and Mr. Hynes do not hesitate to show their identity as Irish Nationalists with clear-cut Irish symbol on their dresses. Others such as Gabriel Conroy choose to believe in the continental fashion but do it in a low key in front of his Irish fellows. Still others are calculating about the unstable Irish identity under its colonial status and thus manipulate the code of dress to make a profit. Joyces depiction of these characters clothing reflects the identity crisis faced by the Irish people under the British control. Their national identification out of personal interest even echoes with Joyces theme of paralysis in this novel. Numbed with the Irish colonial status, the Dubliners such as the Kearneys value personal profit above national profit. This is similar to the opportunistic attitude of the Doyles in After the Race, who modify their views of nationalism for police contracts.

Su 96

As for the comparison and contrast of the use of clothing in Dubliners and Taipei People, one can find that both authors make use of clothing to shape the personalities of characters and present the cultural scene in the societies of Ireland and Taiwan. Moreover, because of the characteristic of outward expressiveness in clothing, it reveals the social status of characters in both novels, and also echoes with the issue of social classes discussed in Chapter One. However, due to the distinct personal background of the two authors, their standpoints and the part of the society they present are quite different. In Taipei People, Pai, as a forty-niner, connects the characters clothing with national affections. Fully understanding the affections toward China, Pai vividly portrays the clothing as an attachment that allows these forty-niners to hold on to their past. His graceful use of words and descriptions about Chinese dressing style reflects not just the way these forty-niner characters look at their past and Chinese culture but also Pais own identification with the culture.71 In the meantime, Pai disgraces the image of Taiwanese women by dressing them in wooden clogs, a symbol of Japanese cultural remnants. Such biased attitude reinforces the hegemony constructed by KMT over Taiwanese society mentioned in Chapter One. This one-sided image imposed on clothing and the culture behind it reflects not only the hegemony constructed by the powerful culture or political force but also the attitude of a colonizer. As for the clothing in Dubliners, Joyce accurately points out the diverse national identification of Dubliners from their different choices of clothing. Under Joyces portrayal, the confusion of these Dubliners in identification can be sarcasm or even a serious accusation against both British colonization and Irish paralysis. Under the hegemony constructed by the British state with economic force, these Irish characters cannot resist but just face it with inaction or even acceptance.

71

In fact, Pai himself mentioned that he was greatly identified with the Chinese culture. This can be found in2001, 30 (2): 189-200.

Su 97

By decorating his characters with either genuine or pretentious garments of nationalism, Joyce shows his introspection of Irish national identification under the British hegemony. Therefore, from clothing, one can find the construction of hegemony in progress in Taipei People, and Joyces sharp portrayal of Irish paralysis under the constructed hegemony in Dubliners.

Su 98

Conclusion Dublin and Taipei, two cities so distant from each other, have similar experiences of being colonized. Under British control, Dublin was a city full of the subordinates. Since Ireland had no autonomy for its own politics and economy, the British state took all the advantages and resources from its dominion. Thus Dubliners poor economic situation portrayed in Joyces Dubliners reflects the oppression from British colonization, compared with the other better-off Anglo-Irish characters. As for Taipei, it is a city that does not belong to the group of people who were born here and emotionally attached to the place. Before the WWII, Taiwan was in Japanese occupation. After the war or 1949, it was switched to another government emigrating from China. In other words, Taiwan had never had the chance to govern itself. As an emigrant elite, Pai sees and writes about Taiwan that his fellow people rule. Between the lines, Taiwan naturally belongs to the Chinese government even though this government is new to the place. Thus, the title of his novel Taipei people refers to those who escape to Taipei and lament their past life in China. Although Ireland and Taiwan have both been colonized, the two authors, who have different background, view the colonial experience of the two places with disparate perspectives. As a native Irish, Joyce deeply feels the pain of the colonized people. In Dubliners, he shows this pain and the reasons behind the pain by weaving them into the stories. Besides the British colonizer, Joyce penetratingly points out other reasons for the Irishs miseries, including the Catholic Church, Irish Nationalism and the paralysis of native Irish themselves. In the stories, there are many characters who react tardily or hesitantly. Their tardiness or hesitation is an implication of Dubliners paralysis and blindness for their own tolerance of being the colonized. Moreover, Joyce describes that they always resort to Christianity for the comfort for their painful life in the novel. The way these Dubliners turn to Christianity makes the

Su 99

Christian belief an anesthetic to the colonial oppression. Joyces severe criticism to awaken his fellow Irish from their colonial misery, however, is hard to be found in the work of Pai. Born as an officials son, Pai feels natural about the rule of Chinese government over Taiwan. For Pai it is a result from the history in which the governance of Taiwan was switched from Japanese to Chinese. In his portrayal, Taiwanese people are financially poor and morally untamed because they are born to this destitution. As for the forty-niners who witnessed the historical turmoil and the ruins of homeland in China, Pai understands the most the pain they feel as he himself has left the home with them to stay in a strange island. Therefore, in Taipei People, he seldom lays emphasis on the power distribution in Taiwanese society, but more on the diasporic emotions of these roving Chinese. This shows that the acquisition of power in Taiwan is not what worries these forty-niners who have already held the power in hand. What is really on their mind is their lost home and political influences in China. Compared to Joyces eye on the colonized status of Irish, Pai focuses more on the emotions of forty-niners. Therefore, there are clear differences in the two authors observations of the power structure and power distribution in their society. These differences are caused by their disparate definitions of nation and the way they identify with their own nations. Although the places they portrayed both went through the time of colonization, their opposite backgrounds affect the national identifications of the two authors. In this thesis, by comparing and contrasting the way they observe and portray the lives of their characters in the novels, I find that the national identities of the two authors belong to the opposite side of the colonizer and the colonized. From the three aspects, class, language and clothing, I have found the distinctions between the national identities of the two authors. In the first chapter, Class, I study how national identity differs with diverse

Su 100

political position and social status from three types of classes in the two novels. In Dubliners, the upper class, mostly occupied by British power, controls the Irish politics and economy and builds a hegemony that affects Irishs national identity, especially the middle class who have the economic exchange with the upper class. In Joyces portrayal, the middle class economic dependence upon the upper class eventually leads to the identity crisis of those in this class, such as Jimmy Doyles fathers modification of his nationalist view in After the Race. As for those in the lower or working class, Joyce describes their heavy economic pressure as well as their paralytic psychology toward the colonized situation that causes their poverty. In their struggle with the needy lives, their tolerance for the Irish colonial status and their admiration for well-off life dilute their identification with Ireland. In Dubliners, Joyce focuses more on the lives in this level of Irish social class. He seems to observe the Irish colonial society with the eyes of a repressed Irish. This is different from the way Pai looks at the life in Taiwanese society. In the upper class of Taipei People, Pai unwittingly reveals the colonial hegemony that has started to come into being when the history about the wars in China has been treated as the national history for Taiwan in education. Through education, the national identity of both forty-niners new generation in Taiwan and the native Taiwanese can be controlled. As for the middle class, Pai merely writes about the forty-niners agony of being caught up between Chinese past glory and Taiwanese reality without uncovering anything about Taiwanese elites who also suffered from the change of political regime and culture at the same time. In the lower and working classes, although Pai also writes about the poor life of forty-niners, he arranges native Taiwanese only in this level of society. Moreover, rather than the historical change that brings about the forty-niners agonies, it is fate that causes the native Taiwaneses miseries and poverty in their lives. Compared with Joyces analysis of Irish poverty,

Su 101

Pais fatalism about the natural misery of native Taiwanese is relatively shallow. From the three social classes in the two novels, one finds that Joyce mainly focuses on the native Irish and observes the change of their national identity in different social classes under the British colonization. On the other hand, Pai lays most of his emphasis on the roaming Chinese in Taiwan and records their sadness in the change of nation and identity. By doing this, Pai unwittingly reveals his disregard of the life and feeling of the controlled Taiwanese and shows the similar national identification of the forty-niners in his novel. In Chapter Two, Language, I observe and analyze the way Joyce and Pai make use of language to directly or indirectly present the issue of national identity. By looking into the way the two authors make use of various language strategies in stories, I consider that the political stance and the national identity of Joyce and Pai can be reflected. In Taipei People, I find that there is a Chinese center in Pais construction of language framework. With this Chinese center, he conveys his cultural and national identification with China. In his language, Pai uses a lot of traditional Chinese elements and exerts many skillful writing techniques. This shows the cultural identification with China in the language. Moreover, there is a hierarchy in his use of dialects. In this hierarchy, Mandarin, a dialect that was the official language of R.O.C., is endowed with authenticity and authority while the other dialect Taiwanese is connected with vulgarity and lowness. This arrangement reflects Pais identification with the language policy as well as the political force in Taiwan. In Dubliners, different from constructing a center as Pai does in the language of Taipei People, Joyce overthrows the colonizers status with its own language. Although using the oppressors language, Joyce mixes it with Irish elements to make the language Irish. With English mixed with Irish, he breaks the boundary between Irish and English and strongly voices his discontent about the English colonization. His English writing

Su 102

shakes the British Empire constructed by English and the language policy of British government. In Chapter Three, Clothing, I study how clothing serves as a foil to certain characters and their national identification in Dubliners and Taipei People. In the two novels, both Joyce and Pai use clothing to reflect the wearers social status and economic situation. As they make use of clothing to go with the characters background, they also endow it with the cultural and political color, which echoes with my observation in the chapters of Class and Language. In Taipei People, one can find a Chinese center in Pais use of clothing, the one as one can find in his use of language. With this Chinese center, he associates the Chinese traditional dress cheongsam with grace and richness, and Taiwanese wooden clogs with coarseness and poverty. In Dubliners, Joyce connects the clothing that has British implications with the higher social status, and most native Irishs dress with a lower social rank. However, what is different between Joyces and Pais use of clothing is that Joyce is more scrupulous in handling characters choice of clothing and the meaning behind, in contrast with Pais simplified classification of cheongsam as the graceful and wooden clogs as the vulgar. In his work, Joyce subtly depicts various motives behind the clothing choices, which include the characters identification with the Irish nation, with the Britain, with both, or personal taste. The way Joyce presents local Irishs confusing national identities reveals his deep discontent about British colonization and the self-degradation of the colonized. From clothing, one can find that Joyce holds the national identification of the colonized, which is opposite to Pais major attention to the national identity of the forty-niners, those who take the dominant position in Taiwan.72 From these three subjects, class, language and clothing, I have
72

In Taipei People, Pai does not allow the Taiwanese women to have any voice for their own thinking about either their national identification or the Chinese immigrants condition in Taiwan. Readers cannot find Taiwaneses thoughts but forty-niners life and feeling in Taiwan in the text.

Su 103

compared and contrasted the national identities presented in Joyces and Pais novels. National identity, however, can also be revealed in the aspects of religion, music, or food. It is hoped that further study can be done on these subjects in the future.

Su 104

Works Cited Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso, 1991. Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths & Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back. New York: Routledge, 1989. Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. London and New York: Routledge, 1994. Bocock, Robert. Hegemony. Chichester: E. Horwood, 1987. Boucher, Franois. 20,000 Years of Fashion: the History of Costume and Personal Adornment. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1987. Brown, Terence. Introduction. Dubliners by James Joyce. London: Penguin, 1992. vii-xlvii. Cheng, Vincent J. Empire and Patriarchy in The Dead. Joyce, Race, and Empire. Cambridge University Press. New York: 1995. 128-47. ---. The Gratefully Oppressed. Joyce, Race, and Empire. Cambridge University Press. New York: 1995. 101-27. Clifford, James. Diasporas. Cultural Anthropology 9.3 (1994 Aug.): 302-38. Connolly, S. J. ed. Language. Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. ---. Newspaper. Oxford Companion to Irish History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Corcuff, Stphane. Memories of the Future: National Identity Issues and the Search for a New Taiwan. New York: M E Sharpe Inc., 2002. Crane, Diana. Fashion and Its Social Agendas. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000. Curtis, Edmund. A History of Ireland. London: Methuen, 1957. Davis, Fred. Fashion, Cultural and Identity. Chicago: The University of Chicago

Su 105

Press, 1992. Deleuze, Gilles, and Felix Guattari. From Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Vincent B. Leitch eds. NY: WW. Norton & Company, 2001. Dolan, TP. The Language of James Joyce. James Joyce: The Artist and the Labyrinth. Ed. Augastine Martin. London: Ryan Pub., 1990. P25-40. Dunlevy, Mairead. Dress in Ireland. New York : Holmes & Meier, 1989. Fanon, Frantz. Black Skin, White Masks. Trans. Charles Lam Markmann. London: Pluto Press, 1986. P. 38. ---. The Wretched of the Earth. Trans. Constance Farrington. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1988. Forgacs, David. Ed. A Gramsci Reader: Selected Writings 1916-1935. London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1988. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1991. ---. The History of Sexuality: An Introduction Volume I. New York: Vintage Books, 1990. Galef, David. The Fashion Show in Ulysses. Twentieth Century Literature. 37.4 (1991): 420-31. Gellner, Ernest. Thought and Changes. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson. 1964. Ghiselin, Brewster. The Unity of Dubliners. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Dubliners. Peter K. Garrett Ed. London: Prentice-Hall International, Inc. 1968. 57-86. Gramsci, Antonio. Hegemony. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan Ed. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004. ---. Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Ed. and Trans. Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith. New York: International Publishers, 1972.

Su 106

Hall, Stuart. Cultural Identity and Diaspora. Theorizing Diaspora. Ed. Jana Evans Braziel & Anita Mannur. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003. 233-46. Heilbroner, Robert L. Marxism: For and Against. New York: Norton, 1980. Johnson, Jeri. Explanatory Notes. James Joyce. Dubliners. Ed. Jeri Johnson. Great Britain: Oxford, 2000. Joyce, James. Ireland, Island of Saints and Sages. The Critical Writings of James Joyce. Ellsworth Mason and Richard Ellmann. Ed. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1989. 153-174 ---. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Ed. Richard Ellmann. Taipei: Bookman Books, 1997. ---. Dubliners. Ed. Jeri Johnson. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. ---. Letters of James Joyce II. New York: The Viking Press, 1966. Kaiser, Susan B. The Social Psychology of Clothing and Personal Adornment. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1985. ---. The Social Psychology of Clothing: Symbolic Appearances in Context. 2nd ed. New York: Fairchild Publications, 1990. Kanter, Douglas. Joyce, Irish Paralysis, and Cultural Nationalist Anticlericalism. James Joyce Quarterly. 41.3 (2004): 381-96. Lurie, Alison. The Language of Clothes. New York: Random House, 1981. Masayoshi Matsunaga 20033110 18 OSullivan, J. Colm. Shall I Wear a Red Yes: Colors in the Earlier Works. Joyce's use of colors: Finnegans wake and the earlier works. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1987. 1-11. Pai, Hsien-yung. Taipei People. Pai Hsien-yung, Patia Yasin trans. George Kao Ed. Chinese-English Bilingual Edition. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.

Su 107

2000. Pierce, David. James Joyces Ireland. New Haven :Yale University Press, 1992. Renan, Ernest. What is a Nation? Becoming National: A Reader. Geoff Eley and Ronald Grigor Suny Ed. New York and Oxford: Oxford UP, 1996. 44-55. Rushdie, Salman. The Imagined Homlands. Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism, 1981-1991. London: Granta Books, 1991. 9-21. Simmel, Georg. Fashion. On Individuality and Social Forms. Ed. Donald N. Levine. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1971. 294-323. Wales, Katie. The Language of James Joyce. Hong Kong: MacMillan, 1992. Watson, George J. Irish Identity and the Literary Reviva:Synge, Yeats, Joyce, and O'Casey. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1994. Werner, Craig Hansen. Paralysis and Epiphany. Dubliners: A Pluralistic World. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1988. 2003 2004 1995 443 --- 1978 200331 10 18 1987 2005 197466 110-116 2007 1 26 A15

Su 108

1997 1991 1996 2003 2001, 30 (2): 189-200 2005 2002532 51-98 --- 2001 2002 11 --- 1976 1999 1990 196937 137-145