Portrayal of The Female Protagonists in Lisa See's 'Snow Flower and The Secret Fan' and Gail Tsukiyama's 'Women of The Silk'.
ABSTRACT
Dalam skripsi ini, saya menganalisis penggambaran karakter wanita Tionghoa
yang hidup dalam lingkungan dan keluarga yang masih memegang erat tradisi
Tionghoa. Hal ini dibahas dalam novel karya Lisa See yang berjudul Snow Flower
and the Secret Fan dan novel karya Gail Tsukiyama yang berjudul Women of the Silk
serta penyebab-penyebab dari segala perubahan karakter wanita-wanita Cina tersebut.
Novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan menceritakan tentang Lily, seorang
wanita Tionghoa yang dilahirkan dalam keluarga petani miskin. Lily digambarkan
sebagai seorang wanita penurut. Kehidupan Lily mulai berubah setelah ia menjalin
persaudaraan dengan Snow Flower. Karakter Lily yang penurut disebabkan oleh
keinginannya untuk mendapatkan perhatian dari kedua orangtuanya. Oleh karena
karakternya yang penurut, orangtuanya memutuskan seperti apa jalan hidup Lily
tanpa memikirkan perasaan dan apa yang akan terjadi kepada Lily. Kedua
orangtuanya ingin persaudaraan Lily dengan Snow Flower membawa Lily ke
pernikahan dengan calon suami yang berasal dari keluarga kaya. Hal tersebut akan
membawa keberuntungan secara materi bagi keluarganya. Pada akhirnya karakter
Lily berubah menjadi tinggi hati karena statusnya berubah dan lebih berkuasa dari
sebelumnya.
i
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Novel Women of the Silk menceritakan tentang Pei, seorang wanita yang
terlahir dari keluarga petani miskin pula. Pei adalah seorang wanita yang selalu ingin
tahu sifatnya. Karena sifatnya ini, dia menjadi kritis dalam melihat suatu peristiwa.
Dia tidak mudah menerima suatu hal dan orangtuanya menganggap hal ini sungguh
merepotkan mereka. Kedua orangtuanya sangat percaya bahwa anak perempuan
Tionghoa haruslah menerima segala keputusan orang tuanya. Selain itu, Pei diramal
bahwa dia tidak akan menikah seperti kakaknya. Hal ini membuat kedua orangtua Pei
memutuskan untuk menjual Pei ke pabrik sutera. Di sanalah dia menjalin
persaudaraan bersama dengan Lin. Setelah itu, karakter Pei semakin berkembang.
Setelah melakukan analisa, saya menyimpulkan bahwa penyebab utama
pembentukan karakter wanita kedua tokoh dalam kedua novel adalah dari keluarga
dan lingkungannya. Saya melihat bahwa wanita Tionghoa memerlukan persamaan
hak dalam menentukan nasib hidupnya sehingga karakternya dapat berkembang
dengan sempurna.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... i
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ......................................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................ 4
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................... 4
Method of Research ................................................................................................................ 4
Organization of the Thesis ....................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER TWO: PORTRAYAL OF THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST IN SNOW FLOWER
AND THE SECRET FAN BY LISA SEE ................................................... 6
CHAPTER THREE: PORTRAYAL OF THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST
IN WOMEN OF THE SILK BY GAIL TSUKIYAMA .......................... 16
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 26
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................ 29
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.................................................................... 30
Synopsis of Women of the Silk........................................................................................... 31
Biography of Lisa See ...................................................................................................... 32
Biography of Gail Tsukiyama .......................................................................................... 33
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APPENDICES
Synopsis of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Lily is the second daughter of a farmer in Yoming County. The diviner
predicts that she must have perfect golden lilies after her footbinding, so that Lily
will be able to marry into a higher class family. To make sure the diviner is not
joking, the diviner calls the best matchmaker in the best village, named Madame
Wang. Madame Wang says the same as the diviner said to Lily’s parents. She
matches Lily with Snow Flower, the daughter of a wealthy family of privilege,
who has the same birthday, same hour of birth, and the same foot size, to be her
laotong, (old same) a lifelong friendship between women that is closer and deeper
than marriage.
Lily and Snow Flower share all of their life experiences for 25 years,
including the torture of footbinding, arranged marriages, and childbirth. After
joining sisterhood, they are faced with their arranged marriages. After Lily gets
married into the most wealthy family in the county, her characteristics change.
Her society and family treats her differently than before because of her husband's
power. She now has the authority to decide the best thing for her family, and, ahe
even makes decisions for her laotong. That is totally different from previous habit,
when Lily has to take decisions from her family and her laotong.
30
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Synopsis of Women of the Silk
Pei Ling is the first-born daughter of a Chinese peasant family. Although
her mother has been pregnant several times, only Pei and her younger sister Li
survive the early days after birth. When Pei turns eight, she is brought to a fortune
teller by her father, together with her sister, Li. The fortune teller says that Pei is
an unmarriageable daughter, so her father tricks her and sells her to an area of
China known for its silk factories. She is unaware of what will happen to her
when her father leaves; and that she has been sold and her parents will receive
money for providing her as a silk worker in one of the silk factories.
Pei is at first shy and lonely but she slowly learns about her job well and
makes friends with an older silk worker, Lin. After several years, when Lin and
Pei become comfortable with their surroundings and situations, Pei chooses to be
bound to the sisterhood of silk workers by taking part in the hair ceremony. Once
this ceremony is over, Lin and Pei will not be free to marry or work elsewhere but
promise their lives to the sisterhood of silk workers.
31
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Biography of the Author
Lisa See
Lisa See was born on February 18, 1955 in Paris. See grew up in the
Chinatown section of Los Angeles. Both her grandfather and mother were
novelists. Her mother’s name is Carolyn See, active in cultural affairs in the Los
Angeles Chinese-American community. Lisa See’s best work is Snow Flower and
the Secret Fan. Lisa See is the author of the non-fiction family history On Gold
Mountain: The One Hundred Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Families
and the novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. See is one-eighth Chinese, she
grew up in Los Angeles surrounded by Chinese-American families. After an early
career writing for Publishers Weekly and other magazines. See published her first
book, On Gold Mountain, in 1995. The book was a success and See followed it up
with three mystery novels set in China: Flower Net (1997), The Interior (1999)
and Dragon Bones (2003). Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005) was her
bestseller.
Gail Tsukiyama
Gail Tsukiyama was born in San Francisco. Her mother was a Chinese immigrant,
while her father was a Japanese from Hawaii. Gail Tsukiyama now lives in El
Cerrito, California. She attended San Francisco State University, where she
received both her Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Arts Degree in
English, majoring in Creative Writing. Most of her college works were focused on
poetry and she was the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award.
Between 1997 and 1999, she sat as a judge for the Kiriyama Book Prize and
32
Maranatha Christian University
served as Book Review Editor for the Online magazine, The WaterBridge
Review. In September 2001, she was one of fifty authors chosen by the Library of
Congress to participate in the first National Book Festival in Washington D.C. and
was invited to be a speaker at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival and
the Sydney Writer’s Festival. Her multicultural upbringing is reflected in her
stories about Chinese women, about whom she has been writing since her first
novel. Her novels include Dreaming Water, The Language of Threads, The
Samurai's Garden, and Night of Many Dreams. Women of the Silk has become a
bestseller; it launched Gail’s successful writing life.
33
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Chinese culture is one of the oldest cultures in the world. It is also a
culture which practices the patriarchal system. “Patriarchal is a system that the
oldest male in a family is the legal head and responsible for all aspects of the
family, including finances and behavior of the other members” (Regulations in
Chinese Family). The father’s role becomes a symbol of Chinese traditions as
men take control of the whole family. Women are considered less important than
men. The daughter is perceived as a burden to a family. Their fathers regard them
solely as property; that is why a father can decide his daughter’s fate. Moreover,
daughters are expected to show their obedience towards their fathers.
In my thesis, I will discuss two famous authors who deal with Chinese
women’s life in Chinese culture. They are Lisa See and Gail Tsukiyama. Both of
them are well-known Asian-American contemporary authors. Lisa See is a
Chinese-American author. Her novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, is her fifth
work. It was regarded as the New York Times bestseller. “Only the best novelists
can do what Lisa See has done, to bring to life not only a character but an entire
culture, and a sensibility so strikingly different from our own. This is an
1
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engrossing and completely convincing portrayal of a woman shaped by suffering
forced upon her from her earliest years, and of the friendship that helps her to
survive” (Golden). Moreover, “The Organization of Chinese American Women
achieved Lisa See the 2001 National Woman of the Year” (“About the Author”).
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan tells a story about a Chinese poor peasant’s
daughter’s life, which is strongly influenced by the Chinese traditions and culture,
and represented by her family and society.
Gail Tsukiyama is a Chinese-Japanese-American author. She is a
bestselling author of six novels, and was awarded a prestigious Academy of
American Poets award (“Women of the Silk”). Her first novel, Women of the
Silk, was published in 1991. “Tsukiyama spent most of her writing time looking
into the silk society which survived in China for one hundred years, between 1830
and 1930” (Siciliano); consequently, in her first novel, she “described a
community of unmarried women who earned their own livings . . . ” in the silk
factory (Siciliano). Furthermore, this book tells about a poor farmer’s daughter’s
life, named Pei. She is sold to the silk factory because her father deems that she is
an unmarriageable daughter. Tsukiyama’s novel shows similar problems as in
See's novel, about Chinese women’s lives and characteristics being influenced and
dictated by society and family.
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Through the story of the protagonists lives and sisterhood, I can see one of
the most important aspects in the literary works, namely, the portrayal of the
female protagonist. Through the characters, the readers can understand the story
and the purpose of the novel. “The requirement of good fiction is that each
character be characterized fully enough to justify his/her role in the story and
make it convincing” (Perrine 70). “Fictional life begins when an author breathes
life into his/ her characters and convinces us of their reality. Though fullness of
characterization need not be his aim, soundness of characterization is a test by
which he/she stands or falls” (Perrine 71).
In these novels, I will analyze the changes of both female protagonists’
characteristics. I find it important to analyze the portrayal of the two female
protagonists to see how women’s characteristics in both of the novels are
influenced by the pressure of society and family. Lily is the protagonist of Snow
Flower and the Secret Fan, who lived in the 17th century, while Pei is the
protagonist of Women of the Silk, who lived in the 20th century. Although the two
women live in different periods at time, they have a similar experience that is, of
being brought up in a patriarchal society. Both Lily and Pei live under the
pressure of family and culture in China. Lily is obedient because she wants to win
her parents’s affection and Pei is obedient because she is forced to. The two
writers, Lisa See and Gail Tsukiyama, describe the Chinese women’s role in the
family and society as merely being treated like property. “Female children were
considered a bad economic and emotional investment, particularly in poor
families” (“Regulations in family relationships”).
3
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Statement of the Problem
The problems of this study are:
1. How do the authors portray the female protagonists?
2. What are the authors’ purposes of presenting such characters?
Purpose of the Study
According to the statement of the problem, the purposes of the study are:
1. To show how the authors portray the female protagonists.
2. To show the purpose of the authors in presenting the characters.
Method of Research
I use the library research for my thesis. First, I read the primary texts, Lisa
See’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Gail Tsukiyama’s Women of the Silk.
Later on, I analyze the data that I have obtained from both novels. Then, I draw
some conclusions.
Organization of the Thesis
As the writer of this thesis, I will provide five chapters, preceded by the
Preface and the Abstract. In Chapter One, the Introduction consists of the
Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,
the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two consists
of the discussion of the portrayal of Lily and how Lily’s characteristics change in
Lisa See’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. The next chapter consists of the
discussion of the portrayal of Pei and how Pei’s characteristics change in Gail
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Tsukiyama’s Women of the Silk. In Chapter Four, I will draw a conclusion of the
discussion from the previous chapters. The thesis will end with the Bibliography,
containing the reference books and sources which I have used. The synopsis of
both novels and the authors’
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the two novels, I conclude that there are some similarities and
differences that can be found in the novels. Both Pei, the protagonist in Gail
Tsukiyama’s Women of the Silk, and Lily, the protagonist in Lisa See’s Snow Flower
and the Secret Fan, live in the Chinese culture and society. Lily and Pei are daughters
of poor Chinese families. In both novels, daughters in Chinese families are not
considered as precious as sons are.
Daughters have to leave their natal family to live with the husbands. As a
result, daughters seem to be just visitors in their natal family. Daughters are
considered a burden to the family in both novels. Pei’s parents think Pei is too curious
and it will make it difficult for them if they have a curious daughter. It is better for the
Chinese parents to have an obedient daughter than a curious one like Pei. Thus, she is
sold by her father to the silk factory; on the other hand, Lily is sacrificed to have her
feet bound as her asset to marry a rich man. There is another similarity, that is,
obedience. Lily does not complain about her parents’ decision for her, because she
knows that she is expected to do everything her parents say. But their characteristics
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of being obedient develop in different ways.
Lily is submissive because she gives respect to the parents. Her
submissiveness refers to the Chinese society and tradition. Pei is obedient because
she has no power as a female at that time. Pei’s obedience changes when she gets
older and interacts with her friends who are independent women at the silk factory, as
their thoughts are more modern than those of the women outside the factory.
Regarding the difference between Lily’s and Pei’s characteristics, Lily’s
characteristics mostly change after she marries. Her status gives her a better position
to make some decisions. It makes Lily arrogant and ambitious. However, Pei’s
characteristics change after she lives in the silk factory, because of the influence of
most of her friends in the silk factory. Her curiosity also makes her become critical.
She cannot accept everything easily; she always asks about things until she gets a
satisfactory explanation.
I think in her novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See wants to convey
that one cannot leave family rules and cultural traditions behind, although one has a
better position in the family. One’s social status cannot change the traditions and
culture. In this novel, Lily is an example of this case. Even though her social status
changes to be better, she still has to change her characteristics and behavior to be
suitable for her new position, and submit to her family and culture.
On the other hand, Gail Tsukiyama shows in Women of the Silk that Pei, as
the protagonist of this novel, at first has experienced pressure from her family to
control her behavior and her characteristics to be ‘proper; according to the family’s
mindset. Next, she moves to the working women’s society and there her
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characteristics improve because she chooses to be free. Tsukiyama wants to convey
that although the society can insist on changing someone’s characteristics in
accordance with the norms, as happened with Pei here, it depends on the person’s
choice. The way Lily changes to have her freedom is only by having a better position
and by behaving according to the standards of her status. On the other hand, Pei does
not the other way round because she was not taught to act properly but as the way she
is, but the society teach her to decide her own decision to be free or not from the
rules.
I find and conclude from the two novels that society influences human
characteristics. Nowadays, what happened to Lily and Pei still happens and the
pressure from family and society still form one’s characteristics. I find that the
purpose of both the authors is to show that society has a big part in influencing
someone’s characteristic. Lily cannot go against her family and society. Lily sees that
nobody in her life chooses to go against the rules and tradition, but they all follow the
norms. I learn from this novel that there are two different choices in our lives. A
person can be stuck in the culture and take a better position to survive in it, or a
person can free herself from it and not rely anymore on the society’s norms. Besides
that after reading and analyzing the novels, I also believe that women need an
appreciation and avowal from the society so they can live better and be equal to men.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
Primary texts
See, Lisa. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. United States of America:
Random House, Inc. 2005.
Tsukiyama, Gail. Women of the Silk. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin. 1991.
Texts
Ling, Amy. Between Worlds: Women of Chinese Ancestry. New York,
NY: Pergamon Press, Inc. 1990.
Eastman, Richard M. A Guide to the Novel.1965. San Francisco: Chandler
Publishing Co.
Internet websites
Golden, Arthur. “Advanced Praise”. 2005. 24 Aug 2008.
Siciliano, Jana. “Article”. Book Reporter. 1999. 24 Aug 2009.
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Dalam skripsi ini, saya menganalisis penggambaran karakter wanita Tionghoa
yang hidup dalam lingkungan dan keluarga yang masih memegang erat tradisi
Tionghoa. Hal ini dibahas dalam novel karya Lisa See yang berjudul Snow Flower
and the Secret Fan dan novel karya Gail Tsukiyama yang berjudul Women of the Silk
serta penyebab-penyebab dari segala perubahan karakter wanita-wanita Cina tersebut.
Novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan menceritakan tentang Lily, seorang
wanita Tionghoa yang dilahirkan dalam keluarga petani miskin. Lily digambarkan
sebagai seorang wanita penurut. Kehidupan Lily mulai berubah setelah ia menjalin
persaudaraan dengan Snow Flower. Karakter Lily yang penurut disebabkan oleh
keinginannya untuk mendapatkan perhatian dari kedua orangtuanya. Oleh karena
karakternya yang penurut, orangtuanya memutuskan seperti apa jalan hidup Lily
tanpa memikirkan perasaan dan apa yang akan terjadi kepada Lily. Kedua
orangtuanya ingin persaudaraan Lily dengan Snow Flower membawa Lily ke
pernikahan dengan calon suami yang berasal dari keluarga kaya. Hal tersebut akan
membawa keberuntungan secara materi bagi keluarganya. Pada akhirnya karakter
Lily berubah menjadi tinggi hati karena statusnya berubah dan lebih berkuasa dari
sebelumnya.
i
Maranatha Christian University
Novel Women of the Silk menceritakan tentang Pei, seorang wanita yang
terlahir dari keluarga petani miskin pula. Pei adalah seorang wanita yang selalu ingin
tahu sifatnya. Karena sifatnya ini, dia menjadi kritis dalam melihat suatu peristiwa.
Dia tidak mudah menerima suatu hal dan orangtuanya menganggap hal ini sungguh
merepotkan mereka. Kedua orangtuanya sangat percaya bahwa anak perempuan
Tionghoa haruslah menerima segala keputusan orang tuanya. Selain itu, Pei diramal
bahwa dia tidak akan menikah seperti kakaknya. Hal ini membuat kedua orangtua Pei
memutuskan untuk menjual Pei ke pabrik sutera. Di sanalah dia menjalin
persaudaraan bersama dengan Lin. Setelah itu, karakter Pei semakin berkembang.
Setelah melakukan analisa, saya menyimpulkan bahwa penyebab utama
pembentukan karakter wanita kedua tokoh dalam kedua novel adalah dari keluarga
dan lingkungannya. Saya melihat bahwa wanita Tionghoa memerlukan persamaan
hak dalam menentukan nasib hidupnya sehingga karakternya dapat berkembang
dengan sempurna.
ii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... i
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ......................................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................ 4
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................... 4
Method of Research ................................................................................................................ 4
Organization of the Thesis ....................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER TWO: PORTRAYAL OF THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST IN SNOW FLOWER
AND THE SECRET FAN BY LISA SEE ................................................... 6
CHAPTER THREE: PORTRAYAL OF THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST
IN WOMEN OF THE SILK BY GAIL TSUKIYAMA .......................... 16
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 26
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................ 29
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.................................................................... 30
Synopsis of Women of the Silk........................................................................................... 31
Biography of Lisa See ...................................................................................................... 32
Biography of Gail Tsukiyama .......................................................................................... 33
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Lily is the second daughter of a farmer in Yoming County. The diviner
predicts that she must have perfect golden lilies after her footbinding, so that Lily
will be able to marry into a higher class family. To make sure the diviner is not
joking, the diviner calls the best matchmaker in the best village, named Madame
Wang. Madame Wang says the same as the diviner said to Lily’s parents. She
matches Lily with Snow Flower, the daughter of a wealthy family of privilege,
who has the same birthday, same hour of birth, and the same foot size, to be her
laotong, (old same) a lifelong friendship between women that is closer and deeper
than marriage.
Lily and Snow Flower share all of their life experiences for 25 years,
including the torture of footbinding, arranged marriages, and childbirth. After
joining sisterhood, they are faced with their arranged marriages. After Lily gets
married into the most wealthy family in the county, her characteristics change.
Her society and family treats her differently than before because of her husband's
power. She now has the authority to decide the best thing for her family, and, ahe
even makes decisions for her laotong. That is totally different from previous habit,
when Lily has to take decisions from her family and her laotong.
30
Maranatha Christian University
Synopsis of Women of the Silk
Pei Ling is the first-born daughter of a Chinese peasant family. Although
her mother has been pregnant several times, only Pei and her younger sister Li
survive the early days after birth. When Pei turns eight, she is brought to a fortune
teller by her father, together with her sister, Li. The fortune teller says that Pei is
an unmarriageable daughter, so her father tricks her and sells her to an area of
China known for its silk factories. She is unaware of what will happen to her
when her father leaves; and that she has been sold and her parents will receive
money for providing her as a silk worker in one of the silk factories.
Pei is at first shy and lonely but she slowly learns about her job well and
makes friends with an older silk worker, Lin. After several years, when Lin and
Pei become comfortable with their surroundings and situations, Pei chooses to be
bound to the sisterhood of silk workers by taking part in the hair ceremony. Once
this ceremony is over, Lin and Pei will not be free to marry or work elsewhere but
promise their lives to the sisterhood of silk workers.
31
Maranatha Christian University
Biography of the Author
Lisa See
Lisa See was born on February 18, 1955 in Paris. See grew up in the
Chinatown section of Los Angeles. Both her grandfather and mother were
novelists. Her mother’s name is Carolyn See, active in cultural affairs in the Los
Angeles Chinese-American community. Lisa See’s best work is Snow Flower and
the Secret Fan. Lisa See is the author of the non-fiction family history On Gold
Mountain: The One Hundred Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Families
and the novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. See is one-eighth Chinese, she
grew up in Los Angeles surrounded by Chinese-American families. After an early
career writing for Publishers Weekly and other magazines. See published her first
book, On Gold Mountain, in 1995. The book was a success and See followed it up
with three mystery novels set in China: Flower Net (1997), The Interior (1999)
and Dragon Bones (2003). Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005) was her
bestseller.
Gail Tsukiyama
Gail Tsukiyama was born in San Francisco. Her mother was a Chinese immigrant,
while her father was a Japanese from Hawaii. Gail Tsukiyama now lives in El
Cerrito, California. She attended San Francisco State University, where she
received both her Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Arts Degree in
English, majoring in Creative Writing. Most of her college works were focused on
poetry and she was the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award.
Between 1997 and 1999, she sat as a judge for the Kiriyama Book Prize and
32
Maranatha Christian University
served as Book Review Editor for the Online magazine, The WaterBridge
Review. In September 2001, she was one of fifty authors chosen by the Library of
Congress to participate in the first National Book Festival in Washington D.C. and
was invited to be a speaker at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival and
the Sydney Writer’s Festival. Her multicultural upbringing is reflected in her
stories about Chinese women, about whom she has been writing since her first
novel. Her novels include Dreaming Water, The Language of Threads, The
Samurai's Garden, and Night of Many Dreams. Women of the Silk has become a
bestseller; it launched Gail’s successful writing life.
33
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Chinese culture is one of the oldest cultures in the world. It is also a
culture which practices the patriarchal system. “Patriarchal is a system that the
oldest male in a family is the legal head and responsible for all aspects of the
family, including finances and behavior of the other members” (Regulations in
Chinese Family). The father’s role becomes a symbol of Chinese traditions as
men take control of the whole family. Women are considered less important than
men. The daughter is perceived as a burden to a family. Their fathers regard them
solely as property; that is why a father can decide his daughter’s fate. Moreover,
daughters are expected to show their obedience towards their fathers.
In my thesis, I will discuss two famous authors who deal with Chinese
women’s life in Chinese culture. They are Lisa See and Gail Tsukiyama. Both of
them are well-known Asian-American contemporary authors. Lisa See is a
Chinese-American author. Her novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, is her fifth
work. It was regarded as the New York Times bestseller. “Only the best novelists
can do what Lisa See has done, to bring to life not only a character but an entire
culture, and a sensibility so strikingly different from our own. This is an
1
Maranatha Christian University
engrossing and completely convincing portrayal of a woman shaped by suffering
forced upon her from her earliest years, and of the friendship that helps her to
survive” (Golden). Moreover, “The Organization of Chinese American Women
achieved Lisa See the 2001 National Woman of the Year” (“About the Author”).
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan tells a story about a Chinese poor peasant’s
daughter’s life, which is strongly influenced by the Chinese traditions and culture,
and represented by her family and society.
Gail Tsukiyama is a Chinese-Japanese-American author. She is a
bestselling author of six novels, and was awarded a prestigious Academy of
American Poets award (“Women of the Silk”). Her first novel, Women of the
Silk, was published in 1991. “Tsukiyama spent most of her writing time looking
into the silk society which survived in China for one hundred years, between 1830
and 1930” (Siciliano); consequently, in her first novel, she “described a
community of unmarried women who earned their own livings . . . ” in the silk
factory (Siciliano). Furthermore, this book tells about a poor farmer’s daughter’s
life, named Pei. She is sold to the silk factory because her father deems that she is
an unmarriageable daughter. Tsukiyama’s novel shows similar problems as in
See's novel, about Chinese women’s lives and characteristics being influenced and
dictated by society and family.
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Through the story of the protagonists lives and sisterhood, I can see one of
the most important aspects in the literary works, namely, the portrayal of the
female protagonist. Through the characters, the readers can understand the story
and the purpose of the novel. “The requirement of good fiction is that each
character be characterized fully enough to justify his/her role in the story and
make it convincing” (Perrine 70). “Fictional life begins when an author breathes
life into his/ her characters and convinces us of their reality. Though fullness of
characterization need not be his aim, soundness of characterization is a test by
which he/she stands or falls” (Perrine 71).
In these novels, I will analyze the changes of both female protagonists’
characteristics. I find it important to analyze the portrayal of the two female
protagonists to see how women’s characteristics in both of the novels are
influenced by the pressure of society and family. Lily is the protagonist of Snow
Flower and the Secret Fan, who lived in the 17th century, while Pei is the
protagonist of Women of the Silk, who lived in the 20th century. Although the two
women live in different periods at time, they have a similar experience that is, of
being brought up in a patriarchal society. Both Lily and Pei live under the
pressure of family and culture in China. Lily is obedient because she wants to win
her parents’s affection and Pei is obedient because she is forced to. The two
writers, Lisa See and Gail Tsukiyama, describe the Chinese women’s role in the
family and society as merely being treated like property. “Female children were
considered a bad economic and emotional investment, particularly in poor
families” (“Regulations in family relationships”).
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Statement of the Problem
The problems of this study are:
1. How do the authors portray the female protagonists?
2. What are the authors’ purposes of presenting such characters?
Purpose of the Study
According to the statement of the problem, the purposes of the study are:
1. To show how the authors portray the female protagonists.
2. To show the purpose of the authors in presenting the characters.
Method of Research
I use the library research for my thesis. First, I read the primary texts, Lisa
See’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Gail Tsukiyama’s Women of the Silk.
Later on, I analyze the data that I have obtained from both novels. Then, I draw
some conclusions.
Organization of the Thesis
As the writer of this thesis, I will provide five chapters, preceded by the
Preface and the Abstract. In Chapter One, the Introduction consists of the
Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,
the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two consists
of the discussion of the portrayal of Lily and how Lily’s characteristics change in
Lisa See’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. The next chapter consists of the
discussion of the portrayal of Pei and how Pei’s characteristics change in Gail
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Tsukiyama’s Women of the Silk. In Chapter Four, I will draw a conclusion of the
discussion from the previous chapters. The thesis will end with the Bibliography,
containing the reference books and sources which I have used. The synopsis of
both novels and the authors’
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the two novels, I conclude that there are some similarities and
differences that can be found in the novels. Both Pei, the protagonist in Gail
Tsukiyama’s Women of the Silk, and Lily, the protagonist in Lisa See’s Snow Flower
and the Secret Fan, live in the Chinese culture and society. Lily and Pei are daughters
of poor Chinese families. In both novels, daughters in Chinese families are not
considered as precious as sons are.
Daughters have to leave their natal family to live with the husbands. As a
result, daughters seem to be just visitors in their natal family. Daughters are
considered a burden to the family in both novels. Pei’s parents think Pei is too curious
and it will make it difficult for them if they have a curious daughter. It is better for the
Chinese parents to have an obedient daughter than a curious one like Pei. Thus, she is
sold by her father to the silk factory; on the other hand, Lily is sacrificed to have her
feet bound as her asset to marry a rich man. There is another similarity, that is,
obedience. Lily does not complain about her parents’ decision for her, because she
knows that she is expected to do everything her parents say. But their characteristics
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of being obedient develop in different ways.
Lily is submissive because she gives respect to the parents. Her
submissiveness refers to the Chinese society and tradition. Pei is obedient because
she has no power as a female at that time. Pei’s obedience changes when she gets
older and interacts with her friends who are independent women at the silk factory, as
their thoughts are more modern than those of the women outside the factory.
Regarding the difference between Lily’s and Pei’s characteristics, Lily’s
characteristics mostly change after she marries. Her status gives her a better position
to make some decisions. It makes Lily arrogant and ambitious. However, Pei’s
characteristics change after she lives in the silk factory, because of the influence of
most of her friends in the silk factory. Her curiosity also makes her become critical.
She cannot accept everything easily; she always asks about things until she gets a
satisfactory explanation.
I think in her novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See wants to convey
that one cannot leave family rules and cultural traditions behind, although one has a
better position in the family. One’s social status cannot change the traditions and
culture. In this novel, Lily is an example of this case. Even though her social status
changes to be better, she still has to change her characteristics and behavior to be
suitable for her new position, and submit to her family and culture.
On the other hand, Gail Tsukiyama shows in Women of the Silk that Pei, as
the protagonist of this novel, at first has experienced pressure from her family to
control her behavior and her characteristics to be ‘proper; according to the family’s
mindset. Next, she moves to the working women’s society and there her
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characteristics improve because she chooses to be free. Tsukiyama wants to convey
that although the society can insist on changing someone’s characteristics in
accordance with the norms, as happened with Pei here, it depends on the person’s
choice. The way Lily changes to have her freedom is only by having a better position
and by behaving according to the standards of her status. On the other hand, Pei does
not the other way round because she was not taught to act properly but as the way she
is, but the society teach her to decide her own decision to be free or not from the
rules.
I find and conclude from the two novels that society influences human
characteristics. Nowadays, what happened to Lily and Pei still happens and the
pressure from family and society still form one’s characteristics. I find that the
purpose of both the authors is to show that society has a big part in influencing
someone’s characteristic. Lily cannot go against her family and society. Lily sees that
nobody in her life chooses to go against the rules and tradition, but they all follow the
norms. I learn from this novel that there are two different choices in our lives. A
person can be stuck in the culture and take a better position to survive in it, or a
person can free herself from it and not rely anymore on the society’s norms. Besides
that after reading and analyzing the novels, I also believe that women need an
appreciation and avowal from the society so they can live better and be equal to men.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
Primary texts
See, Lisa. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. United States of America:
Random House, Inc. 2005.
Tsukiyama, Gail. Women of the Silk. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin. 1991.
Texts
Ling, Amy. Between Worlds: Women of Chinese Ancestry. New York,
NY: Pergamon Press, Inc. 1990.
Eastman, Richard M. A Guide to the Novel.1965. San Francisco: Chandler
Publishing Co.
Internet websites
Golden, Arthur. “Advanced Praise”. 2005. 24 Aug 2008.
Siciliano, Jana. “Article”. Book Reporter. 1999. 24 Aug 2009.
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