Japanese Branch Report 2007

Authors

Maiko Ohtake

Date of this Version

2008

Document Type

Article

Citation

The George Eliot Review 39 (2008)

Comments

Published by The George Eliot Review Online https://GeorgeEliotReview.org

Abstract

The eleventh annual convention of the George Eliot Fellowship of Japan was held at Chuo University on Saturday 24 November 2007.

The morning session began with an opening address by Miwa Ohta (Chuo University). Four papers were presented in the morning; the first two were introduced and commented upon by Michiko Kurisu (Daito Bunka University), and the last two by Shigeko Tomita (Koshien University).

The first paper was titled 'Rethinking Adam Bede - Why Does No One Help Hetty?' by Mayumi Fujita (Kwansei Gakuin University). Starting with a question about the severe treatment of Hetty, Ms. Fujita examined the moral implications of 'comfort' and 'work' in the novel. After pointing out the particular importance placed upon 'work' in the contemporary society of the time, she concluded that Hetty's exclusion from the text was inevitable because unlike Adam and Dinah who derived comfort from their work, Hetty wished to lead a comfortable life without working for it.

The second paper, 'Bildungsroman and Letters: From Pride and Prejudice to Daniel Deronda' was presented by Yuko Nakamura (Keio University). Ms. Nakamura compared George Eliot's Daniel Deronda with Johann Wolfgang Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, from the viewpoint of the Bildungsroman, using Bakhtin's theory. Focusing on Gwendolen's final letter to Daniel, she concluded that Gwendolen's narrative showed the dynamism of the Bildungsroman.

The third speaker, Shota Nakajima (Tokushima Bunri University) read a paper titled 'Tryan's Repentance - A Case of Terminal Care in "Janet's Repentance"'. Mr. Nakajima proposed reading 'Janet's Repentance' as a story of Tryan, who suffered from a sense of guilt over the death of a woman he once loved. He argued Tryan's confession of his past to Janet enabled him to overcome his sense of guilt and devote the rest of his life to support Janet's regeneration. With an emphasis upon the reciprocity of their cure, he concluded that the story presented an ideal case of terminal care.