Chinese women in the fiction of Pearl S. Buck, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Amy Tan: Discontent and ambivalence

When traditional Chinese life is depicted in literary works, Chinese women are often portrayed as submissive creatures who suffer immensely from patriarchal oppression. Consequently, works with traditional Chinese life as their backdrop are easily read from the angle of feminist resistance. The fiction of Pearl S. Buck, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Amy Tan has been read from this angle. Through the analysis of the female characters in these authors' novels, this thesis contends that a feminist reading may simplify the themes of the three authors' works. In fact, these authors' novels do not merely expose the limitations of traditional expectations for Chinese women, but also explore women's complicated view of traditional expectations, which confined women to feminine roles. This thesis reveals that the three authors' works are actually ambivalent toward feminist resistance.