The Silent Struggle Of The Marginal Other-On The Image Of Mother And Its Metaphorical Meanings In Amy Tan's Novels

Amy Tan undoubtedly occupies a representative position among the Chinese American writers. In 1989, Amy Tan published her first novel The Joy Luck Club, which made her famous immediately. This novel stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for nine months. After the success of the first novel, Amy Tan began to publish more novels, including The Kitchen God's Wife in 1991, The Hundred Secret Senses in 1995, The Bonesetter's Daughter in 2001, and Saving Fish From Drowning in 2005. In Amy Tan's novels, she pays much attention to the relationship between Chinese immigrant mother and American born daughter as well as the conflicts between the Chinese and American culture. In addition, the image of mother and the status of Chinese American women are the emotional centers of Amy Tan's novels. As the marginal other both in Chinese and American society, the Chinese immigrant mother struggles silently for her new life.This research uses the theory of postcolonialism and feminism to analyze the image of mother and its metaphorical meanings in The Kitchen God's Wife and The Bonesetter's Daughter. Through understanding the history of the Chinese immigrant mother, the American born daughter begins to accept Chinese culture and realize the Chineseness in her blood. This is the way not only for the daughter but also for the Chinese American women to seek their double cultural identities.This thesis consists of six chapters:Chapter One is the introduction. It introduces the background of this thesis, Amy Tan and the plot of The Kitchen God's Wife and The Bonesetter's Daughter as well as the framework of this thesis.Chapter Two is the theoretical basis and literature review. The first part of this chapter is about the background, development, research method and famous experts of postcolonialism and feminism. The second part gives a general literature review on Amy Tan's works. Then it points out that the majority of the studies are about Amy Tan's first novel The Joy Luck Club and most of the critical reviews are centered on the mother-daughter relationship. The image of mother in Amy Tan's novels has not received enough attention.Chapter Three explores the image and status of the Chinese immigrant mother by using the theory of feminism and postcolonialism. Under Chinese patriarchal society, the mother is marginalized as the other. As the female consciousness is awakening, she determines to go to America to begin a new life. As a result, the dream of the immigrant mother is broken and she finds herself again in a marginalized position in American society. Chapter Four mainly discusses metaphorical meanings of the image of mother. Through describing the experience of the mother and analyzing the function of the mother in inheriting Chinese culture, this chapter points out that the immigrant mother acts as the carrier of traditional Chinese culture, the bridge connecting history with reality and the symbol of the root. This chapter is a transitional part, which not only is a further discussion of the image of mother, but also lays the foundation of the discussion in the following chapter.Chapter Five focuses on the construction of Chinese American women's identities from the perspective of postcolonialism and feminism. Through subverting the stereotypes of Chinese American women, which are imposed by American society, Chinese American women begin to break the silence and articulate their own voices. In this way, Chinese American women construct their double cultural identities both in history and in reality.Chapter Six is the conclusion. This chapter includes the information about the summary of this thesis, its significance, limitations and trend of the further study. Through analyzing the image of Chinese immigrant mother by using the theory of postcolonialism and feminism, the metaphorical meanings of the mother are explored, which contributes to the construction of the American women's double cultural identities.