A Maiden’s Rebirth: Discussing the Relationship between the Four Death Events and the Rebirth of the Heroine in The Island Keeper

• Main Authors: Liang Ya-Chi, 梁雅琪
• Other Authors: Chang Tzu-Chang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/85971870856621349956

碩士 === 國立臺東大學 === 兒童文學研究所 === 94 === “Maiden” is a concept with the combination of “female” and “adolescent,” therefore, to discuss maiden related issues, it is necessary on a foundation of the two categories. In order to proceeding purer examination on those issues, there are also many contradictions worth discussing needing to be clarified. The researcher selected “the disorientation for appearance,” “passiveness of immanence” and “self-identity of adolescent” as three main aspects to study the rebirth of a maiden in the adolescent novels. “Rebirth” is a psychological term, and implies a kind of inner revolution. The first step of this revolution is to destroy the disorientation for appearance that comes from social culture’s molding. The second step is to build identified new self with more hermaphrodite immanence, via three methods: giving alarm, making up one’s mind to leave, and never-ended struggling. Among local and translated adolescent novels, the author chose the text the Island Keeper as her main discussing subject, and along the timeline of four events of death in the text, to discuss that death is not only to solicit identity crisis but also to provide the chance for a change. On the path led by death, the heroine, Cleo, who keeps the small island with inner conflicts in herself, could trudge toward her rebirth. Cleo is a case that could be a trigger of our conscious of crisis to make us rethink our own status of being. The rebirth of a maiden, actually turns her into another phase of “Being”-- the beginning of a more meaningful life. This is what this text reveals and illuminates to its readers.