Diary Of A Drunk Woman

Diary of a Madman, published in 1918, was written by Lu Xun, pen name of Zhou Shuren, who was considered the most important Chinese Modernist writer. The Daydreams of a Drunk Woman, was published in 1960 with a collection of other short stories called Family Ties, written by Clarice Lispector, who went to law-school, and worked as a journalist before becoming a full-time writer. Both of these writers portray a rather dark story, one that focuses on a central character who’s view on the society around them is one where they seem to be the victim, and everyone seems to be out to get them. While Lispector uses heterodiegetic and Xun use autodiegetic narration as the base for their stories, they both share a focus on an individual character, but
This instance of setting up the story as heterodiegetic, rather than autodiegetic, sets a different tone for the reader. Since the readers are given an explanation as to what has happened to this ‘madman’ they have an explanation as to why the diary was written the way it was, rather than being in the unknowing. With this information provided for them, the story takes on a more believable aspect rather than just random ramblings of someone who has gone insane. “Pitch black out. Can’t tell if it’s day or night. The Zhao family’s dog has started barking again/Savage as a lion, timid as a rabbit, crafty as a fox…” (Xun 6), these two lines are dedicated to an entire ‘chapter’ in Diary of a Madman and with the knowledge stated above, the reader can focus on unpacking whatever it is the ‘madman’ is trying to say. Maybe he is referring to the way the people around him are acting, maybe he’s referring to the Zhao family’s dog? Rather than sum this up to a crazy man writing unfollowable thoughts, a reader can try to figure this