Amy Tan’s novel “The Kitchen God’s Wife” is the story of a relationship between a mother and daughter that is much more than it seems. This touchingly beautiful narrative not only tells a story, but deals with many of the women writers’ issues. Tan addresses the issues of the inequality given women in Chinese culture, and also deals with issues such as Chinese culture’s expectations of women, abortion, friendship, mother-daughter relationships, and the strength of women in the face of adversity.
Tan even sets the feminist mood with the title of the book, which refers to a woman in Chinese Mythology who cared for a selfish man who became a minor god. She pulls from her own life experiences, relatives, and emotions to write this story, a factor that probably contributes to the realness of the plot and the roundness of the characters. Tan’s mother’s previous marriage to an abusive man, her father’s death, and her loving relationship with her relatives (specifically her mother) all show themselves in the intricately woven story of a mother named Winnie, and a daughter named Pearl, and their struggles as Chinese-American women.
The protagonist and the antagonist in “The Kitchen God’s Wife” is Winnie Louie and Wen Fu. Let’s take a look at these two characters from the novel. Winnie Louie’s life is characterized by ups and downs and the way she survives all this serves as a moral for her daughter, Pearl. From the age of six Winnie feels the pangs of separation, when her beloved mother leaves her. Winnie is sent to live in her uncle’s house in Tsungming Island. The way Winnie is treated is very different from the treatment meted out to her cousin, Peanut.
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Though both are of almost the same age, Winnie’s aunts are partial to Peanut. Winnie had considered marriage to be a better option than staying in Tsungming Island. But marriage to an arrogant man like Wen Fu proves to be absolutely disastrous. Her remarriage to Jimmy Louie does not solve her problems either. Wen Fu’s dark shadow lurks behind her. The character of Winnie is that of a strong-willed woman. From an innocent teenager, the circumstances force her to become a bold woman. Winnie’s life is a motivating example to millions of women who are harassed by their husbands as it exhorts them to rise and fight against atrocities and be optimistic.
On the other hand, Wen Fu is the antagonist in the novel, the first husband of Winnie. He is the prime culprit, the man responsible for the miseries in Winnie’s life. Wen Fu is an opportunist. In the initial days of marriage, he pretends to be gentle to Winnie but within a few days he shows his true colors. The position he accords to his wife is no better than a prostitute. Winnie considers him to be the devil himself. Every night Wen Fu subjects Winnie to utter humiliation.
Wen Fu is extremely violent to her. He rapes her and then compels and tortures her to make her say that she is sex- starved and needs him badly. In spite of all this, at first Winnie tries to be a good wife to him. But when he continues to humiliate and degrade her and is also responsible for the deaths of her children, she decides to leave him. Even after she leaves him, Wen Fu does not allow her to get some peace of mind. He tries his best to wreck her second marriage and regain her. Winnie believes that to some extent, fate also seems to be responsible for the adversities in her life.
“The Kitchen God’s Wife” is a story between a mother and daughter. It’s the tale Winnie Louise tells Pearl, to explain her past– and her silence. The story she tells could be described as touching. horrific, and a joyous outpouring. How can a free woman embrace a heritage that doesn’t accept her? Winnie tries to answer this by spanning her lifetime in this book. It begins with her life in China. She was alive during some of China’s darkest periods– when Japan invaded China, the nationalistic forces rising and falling, the empowerment of communist forces. We see how these major events impact through the eyes of one who doesn’t understand, and so we– who are much in the same position, can clearly see what is going on. We also see, an almost parallel invasion and conquoring of Winnie by Wen Fu, her first husband.
What Wen Fu does to Winnie is degrading, but it isn’t out of place in the society. She accepts this, and so she continually loses her humanity to him– much like China lost it’s humanity to the communists. Winnie finds her strength as the immigrants find theirs’, and not only does she escape her husband, but her country as well.
