The reception of female characters in the novel by Mo Yan «Big breasts and wide hips»

Abstract

Aim The article deals with the problem of female characters in the novel «Big Breasts, Wide Hips» by contemporary Chinese writer Mo Yan and exploring the specificity of depicting woman’s socialization in Chinese society.

Methods During the analysis of female characters the basics of feministic criticism were applied. In the article there has been used comparative-historical, cultural-historical methods. Applying to feministic criticism allowed to analyze actualization of female characters. The applied methods made it possible to systemize female characters and understand deeper the ways of a woman’s socialization in Chinese society.

Results There have been discussed the ways of depicting female characters in contemporary Chinese literature and socio-cultural factors that influenced a woman’s place in China. The notions «feministic», «female» and «feminine» have been analyzed.

Scientific novelty Although Mo Yan’s place in contemporary Chinese literature is evidently prominent, still his works were not thoroughly explored in Ukrainian literary criticism. The article is aimed at drawing more attention to modern Chinese literature and promoting its deeper studying.

The practical significance The article may serve for the further investigation of the problem of a woman’s socialization in works of fiction. The results of the research can be used for writing course projects and qualification papers.