“Her-story”: A Study Of The “Sisterhood” In China Dolls From Feminist Perspective

Situating women in a community of her gender,female writers envision a possible way for women to explore their desire and potential.The second feminist movement involved the heated discussions of “sisterhood” over its utopian notion,but it is still one of the literary keywords discussing female relationship and femininity from a female perspective.Away from the traditional focus on western female friendship,there is a contextual paradigm of Asian American “sisterhood” in Lisa See's China Dolls.The thesis examines the development of the Asian female friendship in the novel.Through reading the texts,this thesis explores whether their common experiences lay the foundation of “sisterhood” in the Asian community.In particular,Lisa See presents the development and problems of female relationship in three events: “The Hollywood Audition”,“Anti-Japanese War(1937-1945)Memory” and “The Japanese Internment Camp”.From these stories,the thesis finds three facts.Firstly,the living pressure in white male-dominated society causes fierce competition between female dancers and threatens the “sisterhood”.Secondly,cultural conflicts produce negative effects on a female relationship.Thirdly,American society manipulates relationships between Asian groups via political alienation and racial segregation.By adopting feminist ideas and postcolonial perspectives,the problems of “sisterhood” can be studied in discussing its relationship with gender,race and class.Thereby,it is urgent for women of color to form strong relationships with each other in order to challenge the male chauvinism and safeguard their rights.The importance of Asian “sisterhood” lies in how they contribute to the toleration of differences among Asian heroines,defend the common interests of ethnic women and speak out against the sexual and racial stereotypes.