Thesis abstract:

«p»This research re-evaluates William Somerset Maugham’s transcultural significance in a Global Modernism context, which will break new ground in the current Maugham studies concerning his humanistic values and colonial implications as a popular writer. With a major focus on Western characters in a post-war setting, my project first exposes the intra-cultural situation in that era, such as the decline of European aristocracy, the estrangement between individuals, and the incompetence of Christianity, through an examination of the limits of language. Then what exists beyond Western language or discourse will be discussed so as to derive an Eastern world where aesthetic, spiritual, and humanistic values abound as a contrast to practical, utilitarian, civilized Western values. Lastly, how a mind free from discourse power (especially cultural bias) may help shape one’s character and adapt him/her to a modernizing world where more interactions among countries occur will be proposed through examples of Maugham’s transcultural and non-transcultural characters. Contemporary representations of the East in Maugham’s times will be foregrounded so as to navigate my discussions that Maugham’s East not only displays cross-cultural values that defy the prevailing colonial outlook but also embodies transcultural values where the East could reshape Western thinking and fill up the emptiness and traumas left by modern changes.«/p»