Abstract:Amy Tan is the most famous female Chinese American writer. She describes the women’s awakening of self-consciousness and their different attitudes towards life in her peculiar way.

Winnie is the heroine of The Kitchen God’s Wife which is Amy Tan’s second novel. She is dissatisfied with the traditional female roles and the terrible family life and she wants to get rid of male dominance to pursue selfhood. After series of protests, Winnie realizes her value and she begins to fight for a new life. 

There are six parts in this thesis. The first chapter briefly introduces the author Amy Tan, the novel The Kitchen God’s Wife, the theory of Feminism and the Literature Review of The Kitchen God’s Wife. The second chapter mainly discusses Winnie’s terrible life before awakening. It includes three parts, life in Winnie’s own family, life in Winnie’s uncle’s family and life after marriage. The third chapter discusses obstacles to Winnie’s feministic consciousness construction, including ignorance of marriage, protection of children and influence of patriarchal society. The fourth chapter mainly introduces people who influence Winnie’s awakening. In this chapter it includes Winnie’s mother, Peanut, Helen, Auntie Du and Jimmy. Chapter five mainly introduces Winnie’s Awakening and Winnie’s new life. The last chapter is conclusion. This paper attempts to analyze Winnie’s awakening process so to reveal women’s sorrow and struggle in the traditional patriarchal society and women’s liberation road is full of difficulties and obstacles.

Keywords:  Amy Tan  The Kitchen God’s Wife  Awakening  feminine consciousness

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Amy Tan-1

1.2 Introduction to The Kitchen God’s Wife-1

1.3 Introduction to Feminism-2

1.4 Literature Review of The Kitchen God’s Wife-2

Chapter Two Enchained Life before Awakening-4

2.1 Life in Winnie’s Own Family-4

2.2 Life in Winnie’s Uncle’s Family-4

2.3 Life after Marriage-5

Chapter Three Obstacles to Winnie’s Feministic Consciousness Construction-6

3.1 Ignorance of Marriage-6

3.2 Protection for Children-6

3.3 Influence of the Patriarchal Society-7

Chapter Four People Who Influence Winnie’s Awakening-8

4.1 Mother: Real-life Example of Rebel-8

4.2 Peanut: Powerful Example of Rebel-8

4.3 Helen and Auntie Du: Close Allies at Critical Moments-8

4.4 Jimmy: The Root of Happiness-9

Chapter Five Winnie’s Awakening-10

5.1 The First Struggle over Sex-10

5.2 The Second Struggle over Dowry Money-11

5.3 The Third Struggle over Her Husband’s Bad Moral Life Style-11

5.4 Winnie’s New Life-13

Chapter Six Conclusion-14

References-15