Obedience,Awakening And Independence:on The Evolution In Chinese Women’s Images In Pearl S.Buck’s The Good Earth Trilogy

Pearl S.Buck was a female writer who was born in the United States and grew up in China.Throughout her lifetime,she has devoted herself to serving as a messenger of exchanges between China and the West.Similarly,her works are well-known both at home and abroad for their true descriptions of Chinese social reality.The Good Earth Trilogy: The Good Earth,Sons,and A House Divided(hereinafter referred to as “The Trilogy”)was written during the reign of the Beiyang Government,which mirrors the vicissitudes of the Chinese family during that special time period.This masterpiece was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Literature after its publication the following year.As a feminist,Pearl S.Buck advocated women’s independence and liberation with practical actions and her feminist idea is also reflected throughout the Trilogy.It took Pearl S.Buck seven years to complete The Trilogy,which respectively describes various opinions of marriage and different destinies of three generations of women in the context of three historical periods: O-lan,Wang the Tiger ’s Wife,Ai-lan and Mei-ling.This thesis is developed based on the narrative sequence of The Trilogy.The main body of this thesis is divided into three parts.The first part provides a general introduction of the author and her works.The second part serves as the main body,which respectively discusses the change of women’s images into three different time periods.The third part is the conclusion of this thesis.Besides,the research provides a general introduction of Pearl S.Buck and The Trilogy and its relevant research trends both at home and abroad.In the main body,the author defines women’s status of different periods in The Trilogy as “obedience”,“awakening” and “independence”.The female characters O-lan and Pear Blossom were chosen to analyze women’s “obedience” status under the traditional marriage system.Their obedience to the absolute authority of their husbands is the true reflection of women’s mind in the old times.Wang the Tiger’s Wife is portrayed as a representative figure of the “awakening” period.She grew up amid the criss-crossing crisis of the old and new times,and her subjectivity consciousness came into being between free thoughts and feudal tradition.As modern women pursuing new-type marriage,Ai-lan and Mei-ling demonstrate women’s independence through their personalities and thoughts.From the three generations to O-lan and Mei-ling,women gradually experienced from being silenced to fighting for the right to speak out,which not only tells a tragic story about the fate of women in the old times,but also reveals the inevitable result of women getting rid of the shackles of men and realizing their freedom of thought and independence of personalities in the new era.The author’s own view of marriage is also reflected in The Trilogy.In her third works,A House Divided,the generation of Mei-ling has eliminated the stumbling block and realized the right to choose happiness,but it has become a new relationship problem between men and women behind the free marriage.Buck implicitly expressed this attitude in her book,that is,this new social problem is still open to question.From the feminist point of view,this thesis probes into the joys and sorrows of three generations of female characters portrayed by Pearl S.Buck,generalizes the view of marriage of three different generations as “obedience”,“awakening” and “independence”,and explores the social background behind the three generations of their view of marriage.This thesis provides a brand-new interpretation,by exploring the author’s true view of marriage through her vivid portrayal of the characters in the book,and discusses the contribution of Pearl S.Buck The Trilogy to China and the world,in an aim to help experts and scholars both at home and abroad to study Pearl S.Buck and her works.