<論文>包摂するMississippi川とMagnolia --Show Boatにおける「黄色」あるいは「黄金」の表象--

Abstract

Show Boat, published in 1926, is one of the most well-known and commercially successful novels among Edna Ferber's works. Despite being widely regarded as a novel that revolves around racial problems, few critics have mentioned that the Mississippi River, which is the main setting of the novel, is repeatedly described as “yellow, ” “tawny, ” or “golden yellow, ” thereby visually connecting it with the mixed-race women commonly known as “yellow girls.” In this thesis I will explore how the river represents the values of those “yellow girls, ” who were the target of sexual exploitation and social discrimination back then. I will also argue how Magnolia, the white protagonist in the novel, becomes deeply attracted to the colour of “yellow, ” empathizing and even blending her identity with the “yellow girls.” Then I will conclude that in this novel, Ferber tries to insist how fragile and nonsensical the structure of exploitation and discrimination is by depicting the “yellow” river as far from being powerless and weak – instead, it becomes “golden yellow” and tries to swallow everything, including the ones that exploit and discriminate the “yellow girls.”