Representation and Its Limits

Abstract

The previous chapter presented feminist discussions on the difficulties and challenges in engaging with the testimonies of ‘comfort women’ victim-survivors. The main arguments revolved around the problem of seeking truth in victim-survivors’ narratives and the importance of the very process of listening to them. Listening to women’s narratives is a critical and reflective practice, and this also poses a question of how to ensure such reflectivity in representing the women and their voices. Due to their connection with historical facts/truth, the testimonies of ‘comfort women’ victims and the women themselves are expected to be represented as undistorted and realistic. The question, however, can be raised as to whether realistic representation is possible or even desirable. To put it differently, the main concern of this chapter is whether there is any desirable way that a certain topic and voices should be represented (interpreted) and whether the particular nature of the topic might limit or determine how it should be represented.