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Cross-cultural connections : the romance between the American man and the Asian Chinese woman in contemporary Chinese women's diasporic literature - Catherine Lim's Following the wrong god home, Shirley Lim's Joss and gold, and Amy Tan's The bonesetter's daughter
Author
Lim, Marie Hwee Tze
Supervisor
Gabrielpillai, Matilda
Abstract
This study aims to explore if there is any particular significance why Catherine Lim, Shirley Lim, and Amy Tan chose to focus on the romance between an American man and an Asian Chinese woman in their latest novel. The romance between the American man and the Asian Chinese woman acts as a metaphor that can be unpacked for ideologies about how the East and West meets, and the ways which each culture tries to negotiate its identities with the 'Other'. This study will look at three common issues in the novels. They are, namely, the romance as a metaphor for negotiation between the East and West, the nursemaid as a mediating figure between the East and West, and the place of the female in the East-West dichotomy. Since the terms 'American man' and 'Asian woman' may have already constructed the prism of prejudice through which one views the 'Other', I wish to gauge whether each author subscribes to monolithic definitions and understanding of them. In addition, as these three authors identify themselves to be feminists to some degree, I am also interested to consider the extent to which these romantic fantasies bind or empower their female readers.
Date Issued
2001
Call Number
PR9555.9.L72 Lim
Date Submitted
2001