Transgressing Conformity: Taiwanese Women in Tzeng Ching-wen's Short Stories

• Author / Creator

  Tang, Lisa

• In Magnolia: Stories of Taiwanese Women by Tzeng Ching-wen, Tzeng Ching-wen writes about women’s suffering. The fictional women in this collection suffer because of the commitment to their responsibilities, which are framed by conformity. Conformity is a set by responsibilities that people have, to which members of a society should not escape. In Tzeng’s stories, the protagonists suffer because conformity has been broken by a patriarchal authority – these women are soon burdened by the responsibilities that they have to take, in addition to being judged and oppressed by others. This thesis will analyse how these women were challenged in preserving virtue through their responsibility and how oppression is inevitable, whether it derives from traditions or modernity.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Conformity
  • Women
  • Taiwan
  • Modernity
  • Tzeng Ching-wen
  • Confucianism

• Graduation date

  Spring 2014

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3SQ8QR95

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.