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Christina George
Ms. Smit
12 AP Literature
November 2, 2014
The Duty of Women: An Analysis of a feminist perspective on Tans, The Joy Luck Club
Amy Tan, in The Joy Luck Club, uses her clever and relatable stories of several womens
experiences to portray not only the difficulty of adjusting to a new home, the difficulty of being
accepted by loved ones, but also the preconceived role of women society reinforces. In many
Asian countries, women have a certain guideline of rules to tell them exactly how to act and what
to do. The American society has a more lenient and freeing outlook on the role of women. Many
times, as seen in the novel, these women are strictly used to what their old life like was in their
home that is now miles away. The role of mothers and their daughters in particular, is very much
explored through the inside look of several women.
Feminism is the promotion of women's rights based upon social and political guidelines.
Throughout the book, each woman goes through several alterations that often shake their
preconceived notions about America. The American culture is one that is truly unique to the mix
of people and principles from other countries, to form a well-balanced and cohesive nation.
Jing-Mei Woo is faced with a difficult task of continuing her mothers Joy Luck Club
that she came up with in China. She finds this mission especially daunting because her
relationship with her mother was cut short when she passed away. The time with her mom while
she was alive, was superficial and Jing-Mei looks back at her mother has a harsh and insensitive

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woman. She recollects her constant criticism of others and their inability to connect with each
other was apparent. I had always assumed we had an unspoken understanding: that she didnt
really mean I was a failure, and I really meant I would try to respect her opinions more. But
listening to Auntie Lin tonight reminds me one again: My mother and I never really understood
one another (Tan27).Feminists would note that this thick-skinned character to be seen as the
bad guy. Throughout Jing-Meis story, she is led to China where her mother was so involved, to
find her lost twin sisters. It is through this that Jing-Mei realizes the unaffectionate ways of her
mother was often masked because her mother had extremely high expectations for Jing-Mei.
Feminists may argue that although this mother had a deep love for her daughter, she was
portrayed as an unaffectionate mother. Her mother gifted her with a jade pendant, which JingMei shrugged off at first. It was after her mothers death she realizes that this subtle action was a
grand gesture to show the true love her mother felt towards her. Along with this Jing-Meis
journey to her mothers home led her to finding her mothers heart and genuine concern she had
for her beloved daughter.
Aside from the aspect of immigration and isolation, Tan exemplifies the difficulties that
women have to go through in their native countries. Particularly, Lindo reflects on her
relationship with her mom and her demanding childhood. She was chosen a husband at the age
of two and her mother often times referred to her as her mother-in laws daughter. Because I was
promised to the Huangs son for marriage, my own family began treating me as if I belonged to
somebody else (Tan45). This was the obvious hint to Lindo that she was no longer part of her
own family, but now property of a new family that her parents had forcefully decided for her.
She was supposed to be a submissive girl to not only to her own family, but to her chosen
husbands family. Through a feminist lens, it is clear the discrimination that Lindo faces. She is

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clearly unhappy with the expectations of the treatment of her own family. Lindo was not allowed
to create or choose her own destiny and her disapproval was hidden by her obedience to her
family. I was actually a very obedient child, but sometimes I had a sour look on my faceThis
is when my mother would say, Such an ugly face. The Huangs wont want you and our family
will be disgraced. And I would cry more to make my face uglier (Tan45). Despite these
strenuous challenges she faced, she was expected to remain loyal and sweet. Her mother-in law
was adamant about Lindo blessing her with grandchildren and Lindo was surrounded by constant
criticism from her husbands family. It is depicted that Lindo was just a mere figure to bring
offspring for the needy mother-in law and stood as a servile figure the Huang family.
The lack of power Tan illuminates in The Joy Luck Club depicts a contained role women
fight for. Through the narratives of Jing-Mei and Lindo, readers gain different perspectives on
how women are portrayed miniscule in the importance of daily life. The concerned mother was
portrayed unaffectionate and uninterested. Although Jing-Mei did not realize the importance of
this strong-willed mother in her life while her mother was alive, the adventure to China revived
her hope in her mother. Also, Lindos entire life was planned out from childhood and the
unhappiness she felt from these events was forced to be buried in order to please society. Women
were seen as a chess piece and were played as pawns for bearing children, and being submissive
to the views of servile women. Tan allays this inequality and punctures the minute role of
women through her depictions of various women dealing with these challenges.