“The hero in a ghost story laughs a nimble laugh” : The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts ou la réinvention du canon littéraire états-unien chez Maxine Hong Kingston
In this article, I will show that the numerous ghosts in The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston equate the spectrality of minor literatures, especially Chinese American literature, which are somehow still not considered as equally representative of American literature as other works by white writ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires du Midi
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Caliban: French Journal of English Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/caliban/13659 |
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| author | Christelle Ha Soon-Lahaye |
| author_facet | Christelle Ha Soon-Lahaye |
| author_sort | Christelle Ha Soon-Lahaye |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this article, I will show that the numerous ghosts in The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston equate the spectrality of minor literatures, especially Chinese American literature, which are somehow still not considered as equally representative of American literature as other works by white writers, as shown by the very fact that they are given a label that points out their specificity even today. The multiplicity of ghosts in the text highlights the difficulty for Chinese Americans to define their identity, and the use of the ghost figure aims at claiming a place and role for Chinese immigrants and their children in American history. The characters’ relations to the ghosts echo the writer’s relation to the national literary canon, as her spectral writing acts as a reminder of the existence of minor literatures, present but all too often forgotten in American literature. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bdf9e607bdb445b3b6fac467b7b6090b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2425-6250 2431-1766 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Presses Universitaires du Midi |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Caliban: French Journal of English Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-bdf9e607bdb445b3b6fac467b7b6090b2025-08-20T04:02:14ZengPresses Universitaires du MidiCaliban: French Journal of English Studies2425-62502431-17662025-05-017310.4000/14bvu“The hero in a ghost story laughs a nimble laugh” : The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts ou la réinvention du canon littéraire états-unien chez Maxine Hong KingstonChristelle Ha Soon-LahayeIn this article, I will show that the numerous ghosts in The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston equate the spectrality of minor literatures, especially Chinese American literature, which are somehow still not considered as equally representative of American literature as other works by white writers, as shown by the very fact that they are given a label that points out their specificity even today. The multiplicity of ghosts in the text highlights the difficulty for Chinese Americans to define their identity, and the use of the ghost figure aims at claiming a place and role for Chinese immigrants and their children in American history. The characters’ relations to the ghosts echo the writer’s relation to the national literary canon, as her spectral writing acts as a reminder of the existence of minor literatures, present but all too often forgotten in American literature.https://journals.openedition.org/caliban/13659rewritingmetafictionThe Woman WarriorKingston Maxine Hongdouble identityAmerican literary canon |
| spellingShingle | Christelle Ha Soon-Lahaye “The hero in a ghost story laughs a nimble laugh” : The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts ou la réinvention du canon littéraire états-unien chez Maxine Hong Kingston Caliban: French Journal of English Studies rewriting metafiction The Woman Warrior Kingston Maxine Hong double identity American literary canon |
| title | “The hero in a ghost story laughs a nimble laugh” : The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts ou la réinvention du canon littéraire états-unien chez Maxine Hong Kingston |
| title_full | “The hero in a ghost story laughs a nimble laugh” : The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts ou la réinvention du canon littéraire états-unien chez Maxine Hong Kingston |
| title_fullStr | “The hero in a ghost story laughs a nimble laugh” : The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts ou la réinvention du canon littéraire états-unien chez Maxine Hong Kingston |
| title_full_unstemmed | “The hero in a ghost story laughs a nimble laugh” : The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts ou la réinvention du canon littéraire états-unien chez Maxine Hong Kingston |
| title_short | “The hero in a ghost story laughs a nimble laugh” : The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts ou la réinvention du canon littéraire états-unien chez Maxine Hong Kingston |
| title_sort | the hero in a ghost story laughs a nimble laugh the woman warrior memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts ou la reinvention du canon litteraire etats unien chez maxine hong kingston |
| topic | rewriting metafiction The Woman Warrior Kingston Maxine Hong double identity American literary canon |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/caliban/13659 |
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