Abstract
An analysis based upon Lacanian theories enables us to gain a deeper insight into the meaning of the climax and the elaborate organization of "Odour of Chrysanthemums. "Confronted with the death of her husband, Elizabeth recognizes the truth about human existenceman exists in the realms of the Imaginary, the Symbolic and the Real; and yet, the Real is utterly impossible to grasp. She goes through "the disappearance of the subject" and the rebirth into the realm of the Symbolic where man's existence becomes meaningful. The notion of absence implied at the outset slowly but steadily exposes its close connection with death, which works upon the reader through the rhythm of the fort-da. While encouraging the reader to share Elizabeth's point of view; the text, however, gradually manifests "the uncertainty of the subject" in Elizabeth. In fact, the text is carefully organized to make the reader share Elizabeth's knowledge and experience of death.
