Purifying Proust
Transfiction, heterotopia, and the reimagining of homosexuality in contemporary Chinese reception
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12244539 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yangjie Zhao (0009-0002-4351-3319, École Normale Supérieure - PSL, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 140-154 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | French Cultural Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0957-1558 • E-ISSN: 1740-2352 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/09571558251379316 |
| OpenAlex | W4414471991 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
This article examines two contemporary Chinese short stories by Yan Bin (阿尔贝蒂娜的呼唤 “The Call of Albertine” [2021] and 夏吕斯的爱情 “The Love of Charlus” [2024]) that reimagine the homosexual characters in Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu . Drawing on Gérard Genette's hypertext theory and Richard Saint-Gelais's concept of transfictionality, the analysis reveals how these rewritings invert Proust's original depictions of Albertine and Charlus by stripping them of their homosexuality. The countryside emerges as a Foucauldian heterotopia that promises “moral purity,” counteracting the perceived decadence of urban modernity. This transformation resonates with a broader conservative turn in contemporary Chinese society, reflecting shifting moral paradigms and a renewed emphasis on patriarchal values. The article illustrates how foreign literary classics can be adapted—or moralized—through creative reception, resulting in a new vision of Proust shaped by Confucian influences and heteronormative frameworks
Decadence · Heteronormativity · Heterotopia (medicine · Homosexuality · Reception theory · Romance · Crime and Detective Fiction Studies · French Literature and Critical Theory · French Literature and Criticism
| Highly cited | No |
|---|