Department of English

This thesis examines Dictee by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha as a diasporic text that reconstructs Korean cultural memory through matrilineal storytelling, performance, and linguistic fragmentation. Drawing on the long, complex history of the Japanese occupation of Korea, it argues that Cha’s experimental form of prose and poetry reflects the cultural and linguistic rupture experienced by Koreans displaced through imperialism and colonialism. The first section explores how Dictee centers women’s stories, particularly those of figures such as Yu Guan Soon, otherwise known as the Korean Joan of Arc, and Cha’s own mother, Huo Hyun Soon, to challenge patriarchal interpretations of Korean history. Through a matrilineal framework, the section highlights oral storytelling traditions and the transmission of “diasporic maternity” and trauma from mother to daughter, putting memory in a position where it serves as a form of cultural survival. The second section examines the performative aspects of Cha’s narrative voice, focusing on the influence of Cha’s previous artistic practice and training. By incorporating cinematic direction and visual spacing, it argues that Cha transforms reading into a performance, making the reader the co-creator of meaning and interpretation. The final section analyzes the limited presence of Hangul within the text, arguing that the dominance of colonial languages such as English and French reflects the linguistic erasure produced by colonial education systems. Ultimately, this thesis explores how Dictee resists narrative coherence in order to represent the many fractured realities of the Korean diaspora. Through multilingual experimentation and the intentional use of silence, Cha creates a literary space within Dictee where suppressed histories can be remembered and performed beyond the boundaries of traditional historical discourse.