Women In The Good Earth

“The derivative of f(x)=ln|x| is 1/x, therefore women are inferior to men!” may seem like an outlandish, absurd statement, yet it mirrors the mentality of male chauvinists throughout history. In The Good Earth, a gripping novel by Pearl S. Buck, women such as the narrator’s wife, O-lan, experience a harsh reality of ancient China. They are faced with difficult challenges, simply due to their gender, and the culture of their society. Wang Lung, the narrator, buys his wife, who at the time is a slave, from a great rich house, and the two embark on a journey through life. The novel makes it clear that women are viewed as workers for their husbands and as sexual toys for men.
Over the course of the novel, women are seen as workers for their husbands. For example, even before marriage, Wang Lung finds comfort in the fact that “There was a woman coming to the house. Never again would Wang Lung have to rise...He could lie and wait” (3). This shows
For example, Wang Lung loves a prostitute even when “He knew nothing of her, whence she came of, what she was… only watched her face, her hands, the postures of her body.” (195). Wang Lung knew nothing about this woman yet loved her for her sexuality and beauty. Men did not care about the personality or the morality of a woman. The only aspect of a women that mattered, was their beauty because women were not viewed as actual people. Lotus, the mistress of Wang Lung, decides to give Pear Blossom, a young fragile girl, to a cruel man in order to fulfill the sexual desires of the man. She insists that “…it is foolish, all this weeping over a small thing that must happen soon or late with all women…” (352). This shows that even women saw themselves as sexual toys for men. This also shows that most women were given into prostitution even at a young age. Women had little to no choice in this manner. All in all, women in The Good Earth were viewed as prostitutes with no free