Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2011
Publication Title
Asian Journal of Women's Studies
First Page
69
Last Page
98
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2011.11666117
Abstract
Sophia and Coco are two characters in Ding Ling's Miss Sophia's Diary (1928/1995) and Wei Hui's Shanghai Baby (1999), respectively. Like a larva, Sophia, who enters society in the early twentieth century, is weak and immobile. Coco, who lives at the end of the twentieth century, is like a butterfly leading an outlandish lifestyle. The differences between Sophia and Coco reflect the achievement of official feminism, which liberated Chinese women from traditional patriarchal control in the social sense. However, gender issues for women remain unresolved. To fight against traditional patriarchy and especially challenge gender oppression in official feminism, both Sophia and Coco boldly acknowledge and pursue sexual desire. Their feminist discourses are both commendable and controversial, given their situations and the times in which they live.
Rights
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Asian Journal of Women's Studies in 2011, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/12259276.2011.11666117.
Recommended Citation
Liu, Xiaoqing, "From Larva to Butterfly: Sophia in Ding Ling’s Miss Sophia’s Diary and Coco in Wei Hui’s Shanghai Baby" Asian Journal of Women's Studies / (2011): 69-98.
Available at https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/facsch_papers/849
Included in
Chinese Studies Commons, Comparative Literature Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Women's Studies Commons