Deviant Representation of Femininity in Supernatural Tales of Songling Pu and Edgar Allan Poe

Abstract

This essay analyses the deviant portrayal of femininity represented in the eighteenth-century Chinese supernatural tale “The Magic Sword” (by Songling Pu) in parallel with the nineteenth-century gothic story “Ligeia” (by Edgar Allan Poe). Although the main female characters, Nie Xiaoqian and Ligeia, are cultural products generated by very different times and spaces, both offer similar descriptions of women who stray from the typical norms and expectations of a patriarchal society. In the face of such restraints, these fictional characters strive to navigate their own lives through a process of subtle negotiation and fierce resistance. Poe and Pu capitalize on the possibility of their female characters being a deviant or “supernatural” entity through the depiction of a mystic event, the “resurrection” of the two women, and thereby express their support, uncommon at the time, for female affirmation. In so doing, they also mobilize unwavering support for women’s confrontation with the patriarchal system and established social norms. Additionally, Nie and Ligeia profoundly influence the dreadful fate of the two male protagonists by guiding them to actualize their own selfhood, on the premise of achieving a female identity and thus developing their status in society. Despite the fact that they are from different cultures and ideologies, both authors demonstrate an awakening new norm of womanhood. Through their portrayal of deviant femininity, they offer a liberating power, not merely for the survival of their contemporary women, but also for modern women in our age.