Mapping Eileen Chang’s novels with a computational analysis of themes and emotions
In the domain of digital humanities, the integration of computational methods with literary studies has opened new approaches to understanding and interpreting literature. This study applies Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modelling and sentiment analysis to eight English novels by Chinese-A...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2025
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25467/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25467/1/T%2021.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848816366157561856 |
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| author | Ruikai Yuan, Ravichandran Vengadasamy, Zheng, Yu |
| author_facet | Ruikai Yuan, Ravichandran Vengadasamy, Zheng, Yu |
| author_sort | Ruikai Yuan, |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | In the domain of digital humanities, the integration of computational methods with literary studies has opened new approaches to understanding and interpreting literature. This study applies Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modelling and sentiment analysis to eight English novels by Chinese-American author Eileen Chang. The research uncovers seven main themes, reflecting Chang’s focus on women’s lives, cultural intersections, and societal changes in 1940s Shanghai and Hong Kong. The sentiment analysis of Chang's novels revealed Joy as the dominant positive emotion (19.43%) and Fear and Surprise as the most prominent negative emotion (17.21% each), challenging traditional interpretations of her work as predominantly melancholic. The study demonstrates both the potential and limitations of computational methods in literary analysis. While Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques provide quantitative support and new perspectives, they sometimes fall short in capturing nuanced literary devices like irony and metaphor. The research advocates the convergence of the traditional literary approach and the burgeoning field of digital humanities to provide a comprehensive perspective. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T01:04:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:25467 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T01:04:44Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:254672025-06-26T03:10:04Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25467/ Mapping Eileen Chang’s novels with a computational analysis of themes and emotions Ruikai Yuan, Ravichandran Vengadasamy, Zheng, Yu In the domain of digital humanities, the integration of computational methods with literary studies has opened new approaches to understanding and interpreting literature. This study applies Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modelling and sentiment analysis to eight English novels by Chinese-American author Eileen Chang. The research uncovers seven main themes, reflecting Chang’s focus on women’s lives, cultural intersections, and societal changes in 1940s Shanghai and Hong Kong. The sentiment analysis of Chang's novels revealed Joy as the dominant positive emotion (19.43%) and Fear and Surprise as the most prominent negative emotion (17.21% each), challenging traditional interpretations of her work as predominantly melancholic. The study demonstrates both the potential and limitations of computational methods in literary analysis. While Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques provide quantitative support and new perspectives, they sometimes fall short in capturing nuanced literary devices like irony and metaphor. The research advocates the convergence of the traditional literary approach and the burgeoning field of digital humanities to provide a comprehensive perspective. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2025 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25467/1/T%2021.pdf Ruikai Yuan, and Ravichandran Vengadasamy, and Zheng, Yu (2025) Mapping Eileen Chang’s novels with a computational analysis of themes and emotions. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 31 (1). pp. 322-338. ISSN 0128-5157 https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1804 |
| spellingShingle | Ruikai Yuan, Ravichandran Vengadasamy, Zheng, Yu Mapping Eileen Chang’s novels with a computational analysis of themes and emotions |
| title | Mapping Eileen Chang’s novels with a computational analysis
of themes and emotions |
| title_full | Mapping Eileen Chang’s novels with a computational analysis
of themes and emotions |
| title_fullStr | Mapping Eileen Chang’s novels with a computational analysis
of themes and emotions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mapping Eileen Chang’s novels with a computational analysis
of themes and emotions |
| title_short | Mapping Eileen Chang’s novels with a computational analysis
of themes and emotions |
| title_sort | mapping eileen chang’s novels with a computational analysis
of themes and emotions |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25467/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25467/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25467/1/T%2021.pdf |