A Study Of Female Characters'existential Status In The Valley Of Amazement From The Perspective Of Space Theory

Published in 2013,The Valley of Amazement is the newest novel written by Amy Tan,a well-known Chinese American writer.Most of Tan's works write about the life experiences of Chinese-American mothers and daughters in America.In Tan's The Valley of Amazement,the main characters have been replaced by an American mother and her mixed-blood daughter.This novel mainly focuses on some female characters' sufferings and hardships from different time and places.Some factors lead these female characters to their miserable conditions,including cultural conflicts,crisis of identity,racial discrimination,patriarchy and feudalistic custom.In the end,the female characters' unyielding spirit encourages these female characters to change their existential status.This thesis applies Lefebvre's Triad Space Theory to study The Valley of Amazement.By analyzing the spaces where the female characters are in,this thesis explores the existential status and psychological activities of the female characters in the novel.Firstly,this thesis analyzes the physical space in the novel,and objectively presents the existential status of the characters by analyzing their living conditions and environmental changes,so as to explore their individual value.Secondly,by analyzing the social space in the novel,this thesis probes into the causes of the helpless existential status of the female characters in the society with patriarchy and feudalism.Finally,the thesis discusses the change of female characters' psychologicalspace under the influence of social space and physical space in the novel.After experiencing multiple tribulations,the female characters gradually find their own identity and get reconciled with their relatives.Based on the Triad Space Theory,the study of The Valley of Amazement fully excavates the cultural,historical and social significance behind the space,so it is helpful to understand the writer's creative intention and cultural stance,as well as the female character's psychological state and social values at that time.Meanwhile,through the analysis of the external physical space and internal psychological space of the female characters' existence,this thesis analyzes deeply the existential status of the female characters.