Depiction and challenge: A comparative study of gender and social issues raised in the literature of early twentieth century Chinese and Japanese women writers

Women in both China and Japan faced limits in both autonomy and self-fulfillment. In China these constraints derived from the lingering influence of a Confucian tradition and the agonizingly slow pace of reform, further compounded by social and political upheaval. Juxtaposed to this was the situation in Japan where a strong government sought to enforce on society a family system which rigidly proscribed the position and role of women in society. Chinese and Japanese women responded to these limits by writing; creating stories that described and confronted the reality they faced. Recurring in works written by women in both societies was a portrayal of conflict between a female protagonist's agency and her assigned role as wife and mother. Also present in many stories was the struggle women had in both cultures to create for themselves autonomous lives. These stories often showed female characters undercut not only by societal constraints, but by their own emotions.