초록 열기/닫기 버튼
This paper explores the significations of sexual transgression and the tragic path of Japanese fallen women imagined whithin the capitalist economy of the US and patriarchal Japanese culture. The concept of fallen women circulated popularly in Victorian literatures can be applied to Japanese women who are portrayed in Wakako Yamauchi’s And The Soul Shall Dance and Velina Hasu Houston’s Tea. Japanese fallen women go through the process of stigmatization, ostracization and tragic demise like Victorian counterparts. While passing through the scheme, these women contribute to the revelation of the socio-political and economic contexts of Japan and the US as well as their male-dominant cultures. Empowered by their sexual experiences, however, they do not acquiesce to gender norms and the capitalist system of the US. The transforming fall prompts their tragic paths and finally they lead themselves to their disappearance or death. The two playwrights’ ambivalent views on the fallen women are exuded from the elimination of them. The writers emphasize the defiance of these women and simultaneously reinforce the sound and innocent Japanese farmers’ and war brides’ community.
