桐野夏生「燃燒的靈魂」論

KIRINO Natsuo “Tamamoe”

桐野夏生（1951～）可說是現今日本的代表作家之一，擅長將社會重大事件改編成為精采的娛樂小說，也因此廣受日本國內外各階層讀者好評。『燃燒的靈魂』是2004年起桐野刊登於每日新聞晚報上的作品。『燃燒的靈魂』的主角隸屬於日本的「團塊世代」，是一位看似「隨處可見」的59歲家庭主婦。作品描寫主角（被迫）從原本的人生位置退休後，大步邁向新世界（只能用光輝燦斕來形容的世界）的身姿，而這也正是本作引發熱烈迥響的主因。本論文分析『燃燒的靈魂』時，參考同為「團塊世代（即二戰後的嬰兒潮世代）」的社會學者－－上野千鶴子（1948～）之近年言論。上野活躍於女性主義領域，並積極地將成果應用於文學評論界，近年言論更有連結「『團塊世代』與女性的年老」之企圖。上野認為「呈現『女性與年老』的文學手法仍有待深入探討」，而『燃燒的靈魂』恰巧以文學作品的姿態多方驗證此說法。除此之外，本作詳加描寫主角敏子之夫等同世代的男性，對於「『男性的年老』與文學表現」之議題亦有其剖析力。本論文將針對上述幾點詳加檢討。

Natsuno KIRINO (1951-), one of the leading writers in present Japan, excels at adapting media event in the society for substantial entertainment, therefore, receiving appreciative criticisms from readers in Japan and abroad. From 2004, KIRINO's “Tamamoe” appeared in MAIASA evening paper in serialized form. The main character of Tamamoe belongs to the baby boom generation and is a homemaker who seems to exist everywhere. The author describes the new world (a world whereby only “pristine” can describe it) that the main character of the novel approaches after retiring from an active life and this is the major reason for responses which flown in from around the world. To analyze Tamamoe, a comparison between Tamamoe and the style of speech and writing of another of the baby boom generation sociologist, Chizuko UENO (1948-) is made. UENO wants to project her research domain- Feminism enthusiastically upon literary criticism and recently she tends to combine the baby boom generation with the old age. UENO believes that the literary methods employed to present “female and the old age” needs to be discussed and fortuitously Tamamoe proves it in many ways. In addition, the author also depicts male of the same generation, e.g. the husband of the main character and this is a way to analyze “male and the old age.” In this paper I will investigate these above-mentioned viewpoints.