Intergenerational Writings in Terms of Henri Lefebvre’s Spatial Facets in Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter

• Main Authors: Yung-lin Tu, 凃詠琳
• Other Authors: Wen-chuan Chu
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 100
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/86812451724077114810

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 99 === In the Asian-American woman writer Amy Tan’s novels, writing is a reappearing theme that intertwines with the mother-daughter relationships. In her novels, The Bonesetter’s Daughter covers writings among three generations. The intergenerational writings in this novel not only serve as the mere function of recording, but further offer an intellectual space for the three generations to enunciate themselves and communicate with one another. Therefore, this thesis aims to analyze different kinds of intergenerational writings in terms of Henri Lefebvre’s triad of spatial facets—spatial practices, representations of space, and representational spaces—and concludes with the fact that this novel is in its nature a representational space of Tan’s memory for her mother, showing her unique creativity and imagination. Chapter One introduces Amy Tan’s controversy as an Asian-American writer; however, I defend for her for two reasons: first, instead of portraying the ugly side of China, Tan is actually writing about her mother’s real experiences and, second, notwithstanding the truth of the stories, we should focus on the artistic value of this novel and the great vitality of the imagination in it. This chapter also draws upon Lefebvre’s theory to analyze the intergenerational writings in The Bonesetter’s Daughter as spaces that put on different facets, for example, the chalkboard writings and notes are ranked in the first facet, spatial practices; the diary and sand plate are ranked in the second facet, representations of space; the script and this novel are categorized as the third facet, representational spaces. Chapter Two focuses on the first facet of space—spatial practice, addressing how intergenerational writings in The Bonesetter’s Daughter manifests themselves as primitive and routine-like activities and, with the help of the critique of everyday life, how they are seen as a “boring”, trivial, yet an enlightening staircase that leads the three generations onto their journey of mutual understanding. Chapter Three discusses the second facet of space, representations of space. This chapter cited Lefebvre’s conceived space as a dominant force infusing the perceived and the lived to illuminate the design behind the writings among the mothers and the daughters in The Bonesetter’s Daughter, elaborating how writings are molded into the universal values and interests, the ultimate purpose of human desire. Chapter four aims to reconfigure the former two chapters by infusing the concept of representational spaces. Representational spaces, as a matter of fact, create rhythm in human lived experiences, and thus are tied to the concept of time. Therefore, this chapter also reviews how the writings are impregnated with time and how the rhythm of writings leaps forward to create differential space and finally utopias. The last chapter concludes with a dynamic truth about the writings that categorize among the different facets to correspond with Lefebvre’s conceptualization of space. The work The Bonesetter’s Daughter wraps up intergenerational writings that take on various outlooks and manifests itself as a newly produced product through time and history.