A Critical Study of the Novels of Natsume Sōseki, 1867-1916

Book excerpt: This study is a comparative analysis of the major works of Natsume Soseki, which compares Japan's greatest novelist with his contemporaries, his works with influential English novels, his social milieu and literary concerns with Victorians and writers of his day. There being no golden key to unlock the mysteries of Soseki's novels, this critical inquiry uses unexplored categories of analysis- gender, sexuality, the body, and desire-to fathom the depth and breadth of Soseki's fictional world: interpersonal relations, gender roles, gender conflict, the battle of the sexes, love and disease, erotic triangles, love betrayed. Included is an Annotated Bibliography of Soseki scholarship and also a publishing history of the author's works translated into foreign languages.