Joseph Heco’s Autobiographical Abjection
摘要
In this essay, Marx argues that the pioneering writer Joseph Heco (Hamada Hikozō, 1837–97) deserves greater attention, particularly in the context of Asian-American studies. The essay examines his Narrative of a Japanese (1893–95) from two angles: first, as a conventional autobiography, considering its significance and shortcomings, and second, as an abject autobiography, with reference to the abjection theories of Julia Kristeva and her followers, which, it is argued, may enable readers to appreciate potentially transformative aspects of Heco's autobiographical abjection.