Arranged Marriages In The Joy Luck Club

Pearl, Waverly, and Ruth have the choice to pick their life partners, which leads them to having stable and sustained marriages. In a western society, women have greater independence to choose what they feel is the best suited boyfriend or husband for them. If their mothers had done the same, it would have been considered a rather big deal or a sin because they were forced to live up to the expectations of others. The elders of the family are supposed to have more experience and wisdom, causing their choice to be the best fit. Going against them portrays a sign of disrespect and a dishonor to the family as a whole. Hence, their mothers have arranged marriages, but they don’t work out well due to their husband’s bad characteristics. Nonetheless,
She uses the daughters to reflect herself throughout her own novels. Therefore, all the daughters are composed to show little to no interest in men belonging to Chinese descent. For instance, in The Joy Luck Club, Waverly Jong states “I wasn’t too much afraid as I was for my mother, as I was for Rich. I already knew what she would do, she would attack him, how she would criticize him (191).” The remaining bits and pieces that Waverly has of her culture will be lost as she shall become further Americanized in her mother’s perspective and this idea does not seem to make her happy. Correspondingly, when Pearl’s husband is forced to go to a Chinese funeral ceremony, Phil utters: “Sometimes I regret that I ever got married into a Chinese family (14).” Phil, is white and has problems engaging with cultural diversity, in terms of the traditions, rituals, beliefs, values, clothes, and foods that he encounters. This indicates that Pearl is not what bothers him, as both live a simple American lifestyle together, but rather her family because that is where the cultural difference’s
She can’t be left alone. She wanders away. And she doesn’t know if she’s eaten ten minutes ago or ten hours ago. She won’t bathe by herself. She’s afraid of faucets..(343)”’In Asian culture, it is an obligation for children to take care of their parents in their old age because it allows them to express gratitude to their parents for raising them. Art is separating Ruth from following the family traditions which need to be followed. He’s intentionally compelling her to live apart from her mother because it is not seen as big deal in Western society. According to his mindset, the only difference is that her mother is getting taken care of by some “lovely” strangers instead of her. Art persuades Ruth to pursue her self-interest, which is seen as more significant in western culture than maintaining family relationships with others. In American society, most adult children do not live with their parents. Hence, couples live