Analysis of Chinese Female Discourse Power Changes in the Woman Warrior

Abstract

In The Woman Warrior, traditional Chinese feudal women are often constructed in a state of silence, and unable to express their individual demands and values. However, along with the progress of the times and the influence of the American immigrant community, some females gradually gain the opportunity to have equal conversation with males by receiving education or enhancing their own strength, and the discourse power of females gradually expands. From Foucault’s theory of discourse power, this paper will explore the change of female’s discourse power from silence to resistance in The Woman Warrior, and finally it can be concluded that Chinese female’s discourse power has witnessed a process from silence to expansion, although there are still some unavoidable tome limitations in this progress, but it represents the reconstruction and progress of Chinese female’s discourse in the male dominated society.