Women’s writing in the atlas of world literature: a case study of J. K. Rowling

摘要

In the era of globalization, world literature today does not refer to a fixed canon that is usually male-authored and West-centered. More and more excellent literary works written by extraordinary female writers and non-Western writers have been included in the anthologies of world literature, thus reforming the framework of world literature in a new sense. This essay attempts to reflect upon the developing situation of world literature in relation to women’s writing. It first focuses on the issues of exclusion and inclusion of women writers in the canon formation and reformation of West-centric sense, showing that the changing process is a symptom of changes in the social relations between men and women. By enumerating how an authoritative Chinese journal World Literature absorbs more and more women writers’ works in different cultural spaces, the author then talks about the national version of world literature to dismiss the past prevalent understanding that world literature is a fixed canon that circulates beyond national boundaries. Finally, by commenting on the international circulation of J. K. Rowling’s works, the essay tries to prove how powerful nations may have better chance to distribute their cultural products.