The characterization of women in Yan Geling's short stories = Yan Geling hai wai duan pian xiao shuo nü xing xing xiang yan jiu

Abstract

There has been a long history of Chinese women living away from their home countries. Among them, the cultural, linguistic, and educational backgrounds vary. Hence, the problem they face different. Short stories written by Yan Geling (b 1958), a well-acclaimed contemporary Chinese–language writer, were taken from her own experience when she studied and lived abroad. These works depict the course of various Chinese Women’s studying and living overseas as well as how they strove for survival, particularly in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s. This dissertation is concerned with the female characterization in Yan Geling’s short stories. It examines their different images and characteristics, analyzing their similarities and difference. It also investigates the psychological changes of those women in terms of identity, languages, values and emotions under critical situations in places that they are unfamiliar with. Finally, it discusses the special features and limits of Yan Geling’s female characterization, offering a new perspective on Yan Geling’s short stories.