摘 要

《喜福会》是华裔作家谭恩美的一部重要的长篇小说，也是广大学者们的研究兴趣的聚焦点。本文以《喜福会》为切入点，分析其中移民的中国母亲和美国女儿对待婚姻的不同观念,从产生冲突到走向和解的过程。 本论文还将探讨小说的婚姻主题和大多数谭恩美小说传达的文化冲突、融合的主旨之间的关系。

关键词：《喜福会》，婚姻主题，文化冲突，融合

Contents

1.Introduction.................................................................................................................1

2.Demonstration.............................................................................................................2

2.1 The traditional Chinese views of marriage...............................................................2

2.1.1 The Influence of An-Mei Hsu’s widowed mother.................................................2

2.1.2 The Impact of Filial Piety in Lindo Jong’s Marriage............................................3

2.1.3 The Effect of Tolerance in Ying-ying St.Clair.......................................................4

2.2 The Marriage Values of American Daughters .........................................................5

2.2.1 Responsibility of Rose ………………..................................................................6

2.2.2Equality in Lena.....................................................................................................7

2.2.3 Freedom in Waverly...............................................................................................7

2.3 Reconciliation of The mothers’ and Daughters’ Views on Marriage………...........8

2.3.1 Mothers’ Guidance for Their Daughters................................................................8

2.3.2 The Trend of Culture Reconciliation behind These Marriages..........................10

3.Conclusion.................................................................................................................11

Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………..12

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….13

Reconciliation or Conflict? : An Analysis of Marriages in The Joy Luck Club

1. Introduction

Amy Tan (born February 19, 1952) is an American writer. She is the second of three children born to the Chinese immigrates in Oakland, California. Amy moved to Switzerland after her father and her older brother both died of brain tumors. Her career as a writer began with the publication of The Joy Luck Club (1989), which became a best-seller. Amy Tan is one of the most successful Chinese American female writers in American literature. The representative works of her novels are: The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, and The Bonesetter’s Daughter, etc.

The Joy Luck Club was written in 1989 as a successful novel in Amy Tan’s writing career. The book is divided into four parts and sixteen chapters, just like the Chinese mahjong game. Each part gives us a wonderful glimpse into Chinese culture and heritage. And we are also introduced to the social rules and expectations for the traditional Chinese women. The narrators, three mothers and four daughters, are Suyuan Woo and Jing-mei, Lindo Jong and Waverly, Ying-ying St. Clair and Lena, An-mei Hsu and Rose. They share stories about their lives. Together, these sixteen stories tell about the Joy Luck Club mothers’ past and present and their daughter’s rebellious growth. A dividing line can be drawn between the two generations of women.

As an important piece of Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club has received wide critical attention, most of which focus on the theme of cultural conflict and reconciliation. But few studies concentrate on the marriage motif in this novel. This paper attempts to analyze the conflicts and reconciliation between the immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters regarding their views on marriages in The Joy Luck Club. It would also explore how the marriage motif is related to the theme of cultural conflict and reconciliation shared by most of Amy Tan’s novels. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part will examine the three mothers’ marriages and the traditional Chinese values that influenced their views on marriage. The second part will focus on values embodied by the three daughters’ marriages. The last part will analyze how the mothers’ guidance gives power to their Americanized daughters, who in the beginning tried to get rid of their ancestral heritage. This part would also examine how the marriage motif in the story is related to the theme of cultural conflict and reconciliation.

2. Demonstration

2.1 The traditional Chinese views of marriage

In the old time, arranged marriage, which means marrying by parent’s order and on the matchmaker’s word, plays the leading role in marriage markets, making most women lost their opportunity to choose their spouses. In line with traditional Chinese values, successful marriages should be based on similar family background, including similar financial situation, social statues, etc. Meanwhile, a woman in marriage must be loyal to her husband until her death. This convention put women into a secondary position in marriage. Three mothers in The Joy Luck Club are influenced by the traditional views of marriage.