An Inconvenient Woman The Character Of Madame Wu From Pavilion Of Women By Pearl S Buck

Essay from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Siegen (FB 3: Literatur-, Sprach- und Medienwissenschaften), course: Nobel Prize Winners in English: Instantly Canonized?, 10 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: In 1946, Pearl S. Buck, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1938, published Pavilion of Women, a novel about a Chinese woman who withdraws from married life by ordering a concubine for her husband. The inspiring work deals with Chinese traditions in particular as well as with general questions of individual freedom and existence, possession, love, religion, (female) psychology, gender issues and human interrelations. Although critics tend to complain especially about the story's sentimentalism, there are, however, many colourful descriptions of Chinese habits and customs, which may not only teach Western readers a great deal about the exotic culture but also about divergent philosophical and psychological issues. This essay is, above all, to concentrate on the extraordinary female protagonist, Madame Wu, the matron of an influential aristocratic Chinese family. At this, focuses on questions like the following: How is the specific woman presented with regard to her (outer) physical appearance and body features, but also concerning her (inner) characteristic attributes, in other words, her mind? In what way are symbols employed to undermine her characteristics? And, how is the character development - from the indifferent rationalist to the woman capable for love - underlined?

Essay from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Siegen (FB 3: Literatur-, Sprach- und Medienwissenschaften), course: Nobel Prize Winners in English: Instantly Canonized?, language: English, abstract: In 1946, Pearl S. Buck, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1938, published Pavilion of Women, a novel about a Chinese woman who withdraws from married life by ordering a concubine for her husband. The inspiring work deals with Chinese traditions in particular as well as with general questions of individual freedom and existence, possession, love, religion, (female) psychology, gender issues and human interrelations. Although critics tend to complain especially about the story’s sentimentalism, there are, however, many colourful descriptions of Chinese habits and customs, which may not only teach Western readers a great deal about the exotic culture but also about divergent philosophical and psychological issues. This essay is, above all, to concentrate on the extraordinary female protagonist, Madame Wu, the matron of an influential aristocratic Chinese family. At this, focuses on questions like the following: How is the specific woman presented with regard to her (outer) physical appearance and body features, but also concerning her (inner) characteristic attributes, in other words, her mind? In what way are symbols employed to undermine her characteristics? And, how is the character development – from the indifferent rationalist to the woman capable for love – underlined?

As a result, the reader will find that Buck's female characters, with their different degrees of individuality and typicality, form a realistic picture of Chinese women."--BOOK JACKET.

The story of Madame Wu, a woman whose surprising decision to retire from married life and select a concubine for her husband upsets her extended household.

The story of Madame Wu, a woman whose surprising decision to retire from married life and select a concubine for her husband upsets her extended household.

Dans la Chine d'autrefois, le seul rôle dévolu aux femmes de riches était celui d'épouse et de mère. Ce rôle, la fine et intelligente Ailien Wu ne le supporte plus. Pour y échapper, elle se servira très adroitement des traditions, celles-là mêmes qui l'avaient liée pendant si longtemps. Pavillon de femmes est le roman de Pearl Buck qui fait le mieux comprendre ce qu'était l'ancestrale Chine des grandes familles, mais c'est aussi tout le drame des rapports de l'homme et de la femme à chaque âge de la vie.

This biography of the only American woman to win both Nobel and Pulitzer prizes for literature, a humanitarian who left her fortune to her foundation for the care of illegitimate children, shows her as needing order in a busy, disorderly life, and having a man at the center of each stage of her life, not all of whom were worthy companions.