Soseki (1867–1916), one of the representative novelists of modern Japan, has the reputation of a great reader. The fact that he really read deep and wide can be proved by his library containing penciled comments interspersed among pages. Thus his marginalia become material on which one can construe how he has reacted to the impact of his reading. Moreover his marginalia serve as a clue to his creativity. The fact that he read Gissing’s Veranilda is ascertained by the diagram of his own drawing and his interspersed comments. This invites us to probe into the relation between Mon (The Gate) and Veranilda especially from the viewpoint of plot-construction.

　Since its publication Mon has been said to have a grievous fault in its rather unexpected plot development. Some critics, we find, both attack the alleged weak point and defend it by throwing light on it from individual angles. Viewed from the angle of comparative literature, particularly from that of Sōseki's reading of Veranilda offers a good example of “influence”. Both heroes in their predicament wish to find their way out rather unexpectedly with the help of religious people. Their impulsive urge to throw themselves into a religious order bears a close resemblance. Sōseki’s diagram on the flyleaf is proof enough that Mon and Veranilda have the relation of influenced and influencer. The fundamental difference between the two works is that, while Gissing’s hero succeeds in finding his peace of mind, Sōseki’s fails in the attempt. This difference is subjected to further scrutiny and the conclusion drawn is that Sōseki is too handicapped by his idiosyncratic, modernistic way of thinking to give his hero a penetrating, religious consciousness in weaving a natural, yet powerfully moving plot.

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Oscar Wilde, one of the authors most associated with dandyism in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, was famous for his aestheticism and his own dandy attire. In this essay, I will study the dandyism represented in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, examining actions and tastes of three characters. Wilde says in his letter 'Basil Hallward is what I think I am : Lord Henry what the world thinks to me : Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages, perhaps.' Lord Henry awakened Dorian to 'new Hedonism' and Dorian became a dandy in his action and taste. But Lord Henry wanted to create another dandy. Wilde makes Lord Henry and Dorian talk about 'fashion' and 'taste'. They express not only the appearance of the dandy but also the spirit of dandyism in those days. Three characters represent three phases of dandyism which Wilde wanted to represent.

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