A Study On The Metaphorical Meanings Of Space In An Artist Of The Floating World

This thesis regards Ishiguro's work An Artist of the Floating World as the object of research.Kazuo Ishiguro's An Artist of the Floating World sets after-war-Japan as the background,in which the protagonist Masuji Ono tells his memories of his past before WW? and his daily life.The novel starts with the problem of how to marry off the protagonist's daughter,in the narration of which,Ishiguro inserts a large amount of the protagonist's memories which manifest the huge contrast of the protagonist's career,life and mental state before and after the war.An Artist of the Floating World has been paid attention from many literary critics.Based on the predecessors' study and through text analysis,this thesis will probe into the metaphorical meanings of space in An Artist of the Floating World.There are quite a few spaces in the novel which play important narrative functions,in which three types of spaces are typical:they are the Bridge of Hesitation which is the space carrying the protagonist's personal memories,the house which is the power space and the Pleasure District which is the social space,all of which possess profound metaphorical meanings.As the protagonist's private memory space,the Bridge of Hesitation is Ono's personal space for self-examination,this space contains the protagonist's reflection on his pursuit of artistic value as an artist.As the power space,the house is the metaphor for the protagonist's patriarchal authority in his family.The author explores the construction and loss of his power at his home,which reveals the conflict between old and new values.As the social space,the thriving and fall of the Pleasure District is the metaphor for the ups and downs of the protagonist's life as an ordinary man in the society.The study of the metaphorical meanings of the spaces shows that the protagonist's experience before and after the war is not just his own experience,but the experience of his generation who experienced WWII,thus the protagonist's "passionate",and"patriotic" actions before the war,his disillusion and hesitation after the war imply those of his generation who experienced the war.