The Pronoun “You” as a Refraction of the Ontological Self in Gao Xingjian’s "Soul Mountain"

Ruth Alter; Anna Wendorff

doi:10.18778/8445-164-9

The Pronoun “You” as a Refraction of the Ontological Self in Gao Xingjian’s "Soul Mountain"

Ruth Alter

Kinnaird College for Women University , Department of English Literature

Anna Wendorff

University of Łódź , Faculty of Philology, Institute of Hispanic Studies

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0829-6603

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ISBN-13 (15) 978-83-8445-164-9

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18778/8445-164-9

Keywords: Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain, the pronoun “you”, Ontological Self, refraction, narrative identity

Published: 29 October 2026

Categories: Literary Studies, Open Access

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This monograph offers an ontological interpretation of the personal pronoun system in Gao Xingjian’s novel Soul Mountain, with particular emphasis on the second-person pronoun “you.” Its main objective is to demonstrate that “you” is not merely the narrator’s alter ego, shadow, psychological projection, or a conventional narrative device, but functions as a refraction of the “Ontological Self” — a relatively autonomous perspective emerging from the same source of experience. Refraction is understood here as a shift in perspective that preserves the continuity of the subject while simultaneously enabling distance from its own memories, desires, fears, and existential experiences. The analysis examines the relationships among the pronouns “I,” “you,” “she,” and “he,” as well as their role in representing multiple subjective perspectives. The study is based on qualitative hermeneutic, narratological, and comparative analysis, drawing on selected passages from the novel and on concepts derived from ontology, existentialism, and theories of the self. The findings indicate that “you” performs a privileged function: it enables self-observation, internal dialogue, and the reinterpretation of experience without leading to the complete disintegration of identity. The proposed model of refraction combines the unity of the subject with the differentiation of its narrative manifestations and broadens research on subjectivity, consciousness, and second-person narration in Gao Xingjian’s work.

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How to Cite

Alter, R., & Wendorff, A. (2026). The Pronoun “You” as a Refraction of the Ontological Self in Gao Xingjian’s "Soul Mountain". Lodz University Press. https://doi.org/10.18778/8445-164-9

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