Women Searching For Identity

In literary history, women have long been characterized by male writers according to their own tastes. As a result, it is not easy for readers to find out the real situation and mentality of women. The situation of women in China is a case in point. Silent and submissive as they are, they become the victims of the patriarchal system, living miserably in the shadow of men with no one trying to understand them, listen to them and learn their needs. Therefore, as the spokeswoman of this ignored and oppressed community, the renowned American writer, Pearl S. Buck's China fiction is of a pioneering significance. Brought up in the traditional Chinese culture, Pearl has a deep understanding of the plight of her Chinese sisters. That's why she speaks out for them in the literary world with her passion, talent, eloquent works and her love for this country. In this thesis, the author would like to explore Pearl's feminist point of view reflected in the following four novels: The Good Earth; East Wind: West Wind; The Mother; and Pavilion of Women. The four heroines of the above novels represent different kinds of Chinese women varying from silent and submissive type to straightforward and independent ones, from farmers' wives to aristocratic matrons, which cover almost the whole mentality of Chinese women. As an ardent feminist writer, Pearl S. Buck calls for a reexamination and revision of Chinese female experiences that have been ignored or misrepresented in a male-centered society. Recorded from her perspectives with daring honesty and uncompromising outspokenness, the souls of Chinese women are framed into new words and new songs in her fiction, which has not only enhanced Chinese women's position in the literary world, but also developed the feminist criticism from a new angle, whose influence on literature and society is immeasurable.