Citation

Jiande L. Foreign Literature Studies 2007; 2007(6).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Theories of intertextuality often focus on semiotic synchronism at the expense of the social and historical dimensions of literary texts. If intertextuality is interpreted as an on-going conversation between and among authors (texts) past and present, it should take into account concrete social contexts and the subjectivity of participant interlocutors. Intended to be an intertextual novel, Kenzaburo Oe's Goodbye, My Book! is a sustained dialogue between the partially autobiographical hero Cogito and the English poet T. S. Eliot. The story develops together with Cogito's reading of Eliot's poetry. This essay explores intertextual aspects of the novel and tries to explain why Cogito skips over lines suggestive of intimations and confirmations of Eliot's Christian belief. It is argued that these omissions are as important and telling as Cogito's quotations of Eliot's poems. Conscious of his own cultural difference and lack of religious belief, Cogito eventually has to acknowledge that the poems he loves cannot be totally his own. The essay concludes with a discussion of Cogito's affirmative attitude towards suicide, the obstacle to his conversion to Christianity.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide; Intertextuality; Kenzaburo Oe; Religious blief; T. S. Eliot