Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Advanced Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 2024
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Gender, Desire, And Tension in Eileen Chang’s Selected Works
Ruotong Liu
ABSTRACT:
This paper engages with the themes of gender, desire, and tension in the works of Eileen Chang, with a specific focus on Love in a Fallen City and The Rouge of the North. Chang’s intricate narration oscillates between multiple cultural practices as it navigates the conventional portrayal of female bodies. It employs a feminist and postcolonial lens to examine how Chang’s characters traverse societal norms and personal desires and the modes of their confrontation with patriarchal ideologies and power dynamics. The literary analysis methodology explores the complexities inherent in human relationships, the tension between personal aspirations and social constraints and the reflection of desires in the narration. Love in a Fallen City emphasizes emotional connection and social inducements, while The Rouge of the North, critically examines the women’s struggle against patriarchy and desire. This study provides insights into ways Chang’s narration experiences gender dynamics, tension, and desire.
keywords: Eileen Chang, gender, feminist literary criticism, postcolonial theory, societal norms