Awakening of Female Consciousness in <i>The Joy Luck Club</i>: An-mei Hsu and Rose Hsu Jordan as Two Illustrations

Abstract

Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club, with the awakening of women’s self-consciousness as one of its themes, revolves around the lives of four Chinese immigrant mothers and their four American-born daughters. Taking An-mei Hsu and Rose Hsu Jordan in The Joy Luck Club as two illustrations, this paper aims to explore the internal and external causes leading to their awakening. After analyzing the embodiment of the female consciousness in these two characters, this paper points out that the internal factors involve their traits and personalities and the external factors deal with their mother-daughter bond and the differences between Chinese and American culture: An-mei, encouraged by her mother’s silent rebellion against Chinese feudal patriarchal society, eventually achieves self-discovery and independence by struggling out of the dilemma and immigrating to America; Rose, a second-generation immigrant, keeps seeking for her own identity while facing both the racial and gender discrimination from American society and, with the help of her mother, succeeds in seizing the power of discourse in her marriage and in shaping her independent personality.