This literary analysis will define the themes of feminist identity and cultural assimilation in the novel Disappearing Moon Cafe by Sky Lee. Lee’s novel provides a multi-generational view of the struggles of Asian that have immigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia. Kae Ying Woo narrates the history of the Wong family, which begins with the story of Wong Gwei Chang, and his wife, Kelora, and the familial relationships that extend into the Chinatown community in Vancouver throughout the 20th century. The female experiences of Wong family involve the matriarchal tyranny of Lee Mui Lan and the complex relationships that she shares as a restaurant/business owner, which challenge patriarchal stereotypes in the European and Chinese community. Kae
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Kae’s narrative provides a uniquely feminist view of the Wong family through the patriarchal construct of Chinese and Caucasian Canadian culture. The struggle of Kelora as a Native/Caucasian woman that marries Wong illustrates the complex layers of cultural assimilation that are part of the Chinese immigrant experience. Kelora is an example of a strong woman that saves the life of Wong, which bind them in a marital relationship that ends in her death. The death of Kelora is a cultural bridge that contradicts the forced marriages of Chinese culture, which bring Wong and Mui Lan together, yet Wong’s dysfunctional patriarchal attitude brings much suffering to the family, Mui Lan’s role in the novel is part of the feminist identity that Kae weaves throughout the family story, which involves a matriarchal view of Chinese immigrant life that defies the overarching patriarchal pressures put on women in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Certainly, the blend of cultural assimilation and feminist identity are two major themes in Kae’s narrative. Kae attempts to weave the patriarchal conditions that made life difficult for women, such as Mui Lan, yet she also defines the modern perspective of feminist identity that blends the differing cultural aspects of Chinese and Canadian life into a homogenous unity. These are the primary themes of feminist identity and cultural assimilation that are conveyed through Chinese immigrants experiences in Disappearing Moon Cafe by Sky
Kae’s narrative provides a uniquely feminist view of the Wong family through the patriarchal construct of Chinese and Caucasian Canadian culture. The struggle of Kelora as a Native/Caucasian woman that marries Wong illustrates the complex layers of cultural assimilation that are part of the Chinese immigrant experience. Kelora is an example of a strong woman that saves the life of Wong, which bind them in a marital relationship that ends in her death. The death of Kelora is a cultural bridge that contradicts the forced marriages of Chinese culture, which bring Wong and Mui Lan together, yet Wong’s dysfunctional patriarchal attitude brings much suffering to the family, Mui Lan’s role in the novel is part of the feminist identity that Kae weaves throughout the family story, which involves a matriarchal view of Chinese immigrant life that defies the overarching patriarchal pressures put on women in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Certainly, the blend of cultural assimilation and feminist identity are two major themes in Kae’s narrative. Kae attempts to weave the patriarchal conditions that made life difficult for women, such as Mui Lan, yet she also defines the modern perspective of feminist identity that blends the differing cultural aspects of Chinese and Canadian life into a homogenous unity. These are the primary themes of feminist identity and cultural assimilation that are conveyed through Chinese immigrants experiences in Disappearing Moon Cafe by Sky