The Transformation of Lifestyles and the Gendered Dilemma of Enlightenment Modernity in the Early 20th Century——A Study Centered on Ling Shuhua, Lu Yin, and Xiao Hong

The May 4th New Literature can be regarded as a byproduct of the drastic transformation of modern lifestyles, yet literary research has paid relatively little attention to the issue of lifestyle. Drawing on the “structure-agency” integrated theory of lifestyle, this paper examines the modern female lifestyles represented in the works of women writers such as Lu Yin, Ling Shuhua, and Xiao Hong from a gender perspective. It reveals that these writers addressed issues such as the “gendered dilemma”, the “backlash crisis”, and the distortion of enlightenment in the process of localizing Enlightenment rationality. Their works demonstrate that Westernized lifestyles, which were then glorified as symbols of civilization and progress, failed to fulfill the Enlightenment intellectuals' aspiration of cultivating modern “personality”. Instead, the consumerist-hedonist ideology behind these lifestyles, in collusion with patriarchy, led to conspicuous consumption, reinforced class inequalities, and resulted the subject elimination. The literary imaginations of these women writers a century ago already raised the issue of gender differences, which remains overlooked in contemporary lifestyle theories, showcasing literature's unique sensitivity in responding to social problems.