Realism: The Debate on Typicality, Totality, and Agency—A Case Study of The Comedy by Chen Yan

• Published in: Frontiers of literary studies in China Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 68 - 85
• Main Author: CHEN Peihao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Higher Education Press 01.03.2023
• Subjects: Chen Yan, The Comedy, realism, totality, agency

The Comedy is another of Chen Yan’s masterpieces of realism after The Backstage Clan and The Protagonist. The difference is that the portrayal of He Jiabei in The Comedy echoes the theoretical idea of “typical characters under typical circumstances.” Through studies on Chen Yan’s writing in a tensiv...