The Male Protagonists caught in Love Triangles, and How their Romances End:The Case of Sōseki’s First Trilogy

• Main Authors: Hau-tong Ho, 何浩東
• Other Authors: Chiu-kuei Tseng
• Format: Others
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/03095059361632820407

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 日本語文學系 === 99 === Japanese literary giant Natsume Sōseki leaves behind many classical works. Among these works, Sanshiro, And Then, and The Gate, all completed in the later years of the Meiji period, are considered to be Sōseki’s first trilogy. Although these are three independent works, the backgrounds of the male protagonists are of similarity, and the three works all emphasize love triangles among male and female characters. After close examination of the three works, we find that the romances of the male protagonists, who are caught in love affairs, hardly come to satisfactory endings, whether these characters end up together with the women they love or not. Analyzing the first trilogy from the angle of romances has been a common way of studying these works. However, the love affairs between men and women are usually more complicated than the simple fact of loving or not. Inner psychological conditions such as personalities or thoughts, and outer situations such as personal identities, personal experiences, even historical background of the time, all of the above cab have influences on the development of romance. Therefore, this dissertation will explore two critical aspects, namely, the “inner psychological conditions” and the “outer situations” (including the social background of the Meiji period), to analyze the reason why romances of the male protagonists in Sōseki’s first trilogy don’t come to satisfactory endings. Moreover, a few more issues are of interest here: after the love triangles come to an end, how would the male protagonists lead their lives? Would their lives be dramatically changed? Even when they finally get together with the women they love, does this mean that they will have a bright future? Through our analysis, we see that the male protagonist who hasn’t enjoyed a successful relationship could still have good development in the future. On the contrary, male protagonists who cheat to gain a benefit in the relationship tend to feel guilty, thus undermining their ability to face their romance and their own lives with a positive attitude. In this way, we can see the characteristics and common grounds of the male protagonists faced with love triangles in Sōseki’s first trilogy.