The Uncanny in Shen Congwen’s “Three Men and One Woman” In David Wang’s critique, Shen Congwen’s realist writing is a deviance from earlier realism of the May Fourth literature. The change is manifested in his lyrical narratives which repress the outright accusation of the society into a more subtle position. Shen’s short story, “Three Men and One Woman,” is an effort of such “critical lyricism.” Yet what makes this story even more unique is the effect of his lyrical narrative that destabilizes both the textual and meta-textual levels through retelling the story in an uncanny way. The uncanny feeling derived from the story is the result of Shen’s making use of writing to deal with his memory both intimate and gruesome to him. As
