陳映真 ≪구름雲≫의 탈식민주의적 독법 ― 하위주체로서 여성-노동자를 중심으로

Abstract

In Clouds雲, Chen Yingzhen陳映真 captures the image of Taiwan as it shifts away from dependence on American aid toward state-led industrialization, advancing modernization and urbanization. Through various events, the work reveals how different forces and entities assert distinct epistemologies and worldviews, each accompanied by corresponding cultural expressions. Dominant groups, in particular, seek to reinforce hierarchical structures by imposing their logic, thus solidifying relationships of control and subordination. The challenges facing Taiwan, rooted in multifaceted forms of dependency, demand not only political and economic resistance but also resistance on an intellectual and psychological level. From this perspective, a postcolonial analysis that questions the worldview of (colonial) rulers proves highly relevant. Significantly, in Clouds, the female laborer as a subaltern subject is not merely an entity hailed by the dominant authority. Rather, she seeks to reject the dominant narrative and assert her own, establishing herself as an autonomous subject. Xiaowen小文, a character in the story, renounces writing as a methods of practice because her past writings were motivated by the encouragement of the ruling class and its representatives. Her awakening as a subaltern subject diverges from the awakenings often incited by external intellectuals. She asserts that one day she will write her own story, signifying a determination to perceive life through her own eyes and narrate it with her own voice. Her awakening and ensuing actions do not converge into a grand narrative within the binary framework of colonizer-colonized or ruling-subjugated classes. Instead, by articulating her own story, she demonstrates the potential for subaltern resistance to dominance.