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
that women were expected to care for their husbands and were seen as house workers. Wang Lung doesn’t care about the needs of O-lan, he only cares about himself. Even after O-lan gives birth to a child she still “worked all day…child lay on an old torn quit” (42). This shows that women were expected to take part in the fields and housework no matter what the circumstance. It is beyond doubt, that women in The Good Earth were viewed as blue collar workers with no days off.
The Good Earth depicts women as sexual toys for men.
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
will.
In conclusion, women in The Good Earth were treated as serfs and seen as female whores that could be taken advantage of. Women are constantly working, as evidenced by O-lan working in the hot fields even after giving birth. Wang Lung expects everything out of his wife while at the same time treating her as an inferior. Women are also seen as female prostitutes, a concept illustrated by the fact that Wang Lung as he desires more and more beautiful, young women. He knew virtually nothing of these women, yet he still desired them. It is clear that women were treated as math problems, useless and a waste of time.