Women Empowerment in Lust, Caution & A Pale View of Hills

Set in the Japanese invasion of China, Eileen Chang's Lust, Caution portrays the love

tragedy of a female spy Wang Chia-chih and her assassination target Mr. Yee. While Kazuo

Ishiguro’s A Pale View of Hills tells the story of Etsuko, a Japanese widow who immigrates to

the United Kingdom after World War II and constantly recalls her previous life with Sachiko

in Nagasaki. The experiences of the female characters in these two texts reveal the true nature

of women in the face of adversity. This paper aims to explore how Lust, Caution and A Pale

View of Hills, from a gynocentric view, empower women through depicting the stereotypical

images of women and ‘selfishness’ in female characters as well as making them as the major

narrative discourse.

Firstly, the depiction of the female characters in A Pale View of Hills and Lust, Caution

reflects the stereotypical image of women in traditional Japanese and Chinese culture. Etsuko

in A Pale View of Hills adheres to gender norm in Japanese society, which is to fulfil their

duties of taking care of the family, husband and child in the difficult environment after World

War II. For example, in chapter 4 where Jiro’s colleagues come and visit his house, Etsuko is

already on her way to the kitchen by the time Jiro orders her to prepare some tea for the visitors

(Ishiguro 44). This reflects that men have a higher status than women in the family and hence

have the authority to give commands to their wives. Etsuko's reaction reflects her obedience

and accustomation to the underlying rules of the patriarchal society. Not to mention the scenes

where Etsuko is cooking that appear repeatedly throughout the novel, Etsuko is portrayed as a

traditional Japanese housewife who is submissive to the men in the family like her husband

and father-in-law. While the stereotypical image of women in Lust, Caution is that of

superficial creatures who pay a lot of attention to their dress and appearance. In the scene where

Chia-chih and Mrs. Yee are playing mahjong with other Tai-Tais at the beginning, Chang

spends a lot of writing on their clothing and accessories, such as their black wool capes, gold
chains and diamond rings. Later when Chia-chih looks at the pink diamond ring that Mr. Yee

buys for her, she suddenly believes that the man is in love with her. It can be seen that the

female characters in Lust, Caution are materialistic and rely on men to provide them favourable

economic conditions. Different from A Pale View of Hills, Chang does not illustrate Chia-chih

as a dutiful and loyal housewife. Instead, Chia-chih plays a beautiful and glamorous spy who

undermines political enemy. She frees her female libido from the restraints of conventional

Chinese ethics and national dedication in the treacherous love affair with Mr. Yee. By

exploring and examining the private sexual lives and desires of Chia-chih, Chang indirectly

shows that how, through modernisation and national sovereignty, Confucian thinking of the

1940s’ China encroaches women’s individuality and sexuality.

Secondly, the ‘selfishness’ in Chia-chih and Sachiko is viewed as the demonstration of

individualism, showing the breakthrough for women from traditional concepts. Women back

then must follow the moral standard in traditional Confucian ideology: three compliances and

four virtues, which compel a single woman to respect her father, husband and son. Chia-chih

is unwittingly attempting to adapt to these traditional Chinese ideas as she is very aware of the

people who ‘were eyeing her curiously — as if she were some kind of freak, or grotesque’

(Chang 26) after having sex with Liang Jun-sheng. yet, her actual nature emerges and interferes

Confucian philosophy on women's oppression, and finally breaks out at the climax set in the

jewellery store. When the thought ‘he really loves me’ (Chang 46) comes into her mind, Chia-

chih makes her own decision, “run” (Chang 46). Huang suggested that ‘at this critical moment,

it is her innermost feelings that become clearer. Her longing for connectedness and intimacy is

brought to the foreground, under the dreamy orange light of the jewellery store, while her moral

and national obligations recede into the dark background’ (218). The so-called national justice

and mission are destroyed by a woman’s ‘selfish’ desires for love. Chang believes that anything

individual is more meaningful and vital than nationalism and patriotism (Yao, 205), which
subverts the conventional way of valuing women and the nation. Gender, sexuality

and individuality of women, shown in Chia-chih's transition in character, are the most authentic

and final sources of self-expression and -autonomy, which have also been steadily raised to an

advanced phase of social and cultural structure in modern China. On the other hand,

Sachiko/Etsuko’s selfish decision to go abroad which leads to her daughter's death reflects

women's resistance and rebellion to traditional Japanese culture. Sachiko claims to be wealthy

and well-educated, but in reality, she can only take her ten-year-old daughter Mariko to live in

a dilapidated cabin left after the war. She despises the decrepit environment and wants to leave

Nagasaki for a new life. She encounters a bald, middle-aged American man who promises to

take her to America. Sachiko is well aware that he is untrustworthy, yet she has no choice but

to rely on him since he is her only hope to get rid of the status quo. Sachiko struggles between

the two identities of a new woman and mother. While this is plainly an irreconcilable dilemma,

Sachiko's plan to move to America prevails. She keeps making excuses, claiming that she

moves because of Mariko and that she will be better educated in America, in order to alleviate

the hesitation brought by motherhood. However, her acts such as frequently

abandoning Mariko at home and refusing to let her to raise her beloved kittens, shows

contradictory. When Mariko refuses to move to America because she is unable to keep the

kittens, Sachiko drowns them in front of Mariko. ‘Japan is no place for a girl. What can look

forward to here?’ (Ishiguro 128) The ‘girl’ here refers not just to Mariko, but also to herself.

Women in Japan are attached to their husbands and families; Sachiko believes that she can

become independent woman only in the United States. Despite her best efforts to persuade

herself that she is a decent mother, she eventually puts her ideal life ahead of Mariko's. Same

as Sachiko, Etsuko also moves to England and ends with the tragedy of her daughter Keiko’s

death. However, Etsuko regrets the selfish choice that she made, ‘But you see, Niki, I knew all

along. I knew all along she wouldn’t be happy over here. But I decided to bring her just the
same’ (Ishiguro 133). So, she twists her past stories into that of her friend Sachiko and imagines

that her past self is a traditional Japanese woman who is a wonderful wife and mother, while

Sachiko is a rebellious, independent woman. Etsuko absolves herself of responsibility and guilt

by blaming Sachiko. The line ‘you’ll make a splendid mother’ appears for three times in the

book. This is what Etsuko wants to hear the most in her subconscious, and it is also the part of

herself that she denies the most. In Etsuko's imaginary, she cares for Mariko to make up for

her previous dereliction as a mother. For instance, Etsuko indulges Mariko's willfulness to draw

the lottery again and again. Etsuko's remorse can also be seen in her interaction with the second

daughter. She has no intention of interfering with Niki's life as her negligence in Keiko’s wishes

resulted in a tragedy. The ‘selfish’ decisions made by the female characters mirror the social

context and beliefs of the period. Due to the huge trauma caused by the war to Japanese women,

they would rather sacrifice the happiness of their beloved ones to escape from the present.

Therefore Sachiko/Etsuko leaves Japan with Mariko/Keiko. However, this decision has a

serious consequence — her daughter’s death. Meanwhile, Chia-chih's love for Mr. Yee also

leads to her death. The contradictions show that the sacrifices made by new women in sake of

freedom are enormous. They have to overcome a lot of obstacles in order to attain female

empowerment and breakthrough.

Thirdly, female characters are regarded as the main narrative subjects of the stories in

order to empower women in the society. The vast majority of moral ethics in human society

are formulated by men, and some are even tools used by patriarchal societies to strengthen their

status and ruling. For thousands of years, women have lived under the eyes of men. They were

compelled to suppress their desires and stay silent. However, Chia-chih in Lust, Caution has

her own thoughts and exposes her desires to the readers. The novel adopts the female

perspective from a female writer, which criticises patriarchy. Men in the novel like Mr. Yee,

Liang Jun-sheng and Kuang Yu-min and their discourses are the dominant forces that
manipulate Chia-chih’s fate, which constitutes her destruction in the struggle of sex and caution.

However, they basically hide behind the scenes to give orders, and the spotlight is on Chia-

chih. Her conflict between emotion and rationality was magnified under the political context

at that time. The focus of the narrative lies in the confession of women’s sentiments. The

understanding, experience and criticism of men are drawn from female narration. On the other

hand, female body has always been regarded as the object of male gaze, but in the second

chapter of A Pale View of Hills, Jiro’s body is observed and commented by Etsuko. ‘When I

recall Jiro today, I picture a small stocky man wearing a stem expression; my husband was

always fastidious about his appearance, and even at home would frequently dress in shirt and

tie’ (Ishiguro, 18). The status of “seeing” and “being seen” in the text embodies the symbols

of power and status, and it is not easy for women to compete for positions that traditionally

belong to male perspective. By fighting for the narrative perspective of the text, women take

the initiative to change from the object of male gaze to the subject. Gender factors also help

structure male discourse and shape female authority through narrative voice. Etsuko’s

perspective focuses not only on men, but also on women who are marginalised in the society.

For instance, Sachiko is the target of mockery for her mysterious ‘American friend’. However,

Etsuko shifts the focus from Sachiko to the group of women who play taunts instead of further

describing the relationship between Sachiko and Frank. ‘I found this hard to believe — that

their [the group of women’s] lives had ever held the tragedies and nightmares of wartime’

(Ishiguro 6). Under Etsuko’s gaze, the group of women has changed from the subject of seeing

and oppressing Sachiko to the object being evaluated by Etsuko. Etsuko, as a carrier of female

consciousness, on the one hand, reversed the long-held image and status women through the

female narration of gendered gaze, on the other hand, has become a spokesperson for the

marginalised groups who directly exposes the social expectation and oppression of women to

readers.
 In conclusion, Eileen Chang and Kazuo Ishiguro try to empower women through

reflecting on the tragedies of their female characters caused by Chinese and Japanese male-

dominance. In Lust, Caution, Eileen Chang illustrates the erotic entanglement between a man

and a woman with her unique sense of gender awareness. Different from male narration, she

shifts the focus from ‘revolution’ to ‘people’ itself, and further deepens her thoughts about the

country, nation, and war from the standpoint of women. With a woman's sensitivity and

delicacy, she miniaturizes all major topics such as nation and war into a small scene, which

depicts the hopeless struggle of women in the domination of men, and makes discoveries from

the individual to the history. By portraying a trope of female spy whose lust overwhelms reason

and as a result leaks the secret to her enemy, Chang shows her concern and reflection on the

tragedy of women. Meanwhile, Kazuo Ishiguro also satirizes the oppression of women by

patriarchy through narrating the tragedy of Sachiko and Etsuko in A Pale View of Hills.

However, compared to Chang’s emphasis on women’s emotions and lust, Ishiguro focuses on

the conflict between family and personal ideal, which brings out how expectations of women

as wives or mothers in Japanese patriarchal society stifle their freedom.

References

Chang, Eileen. Lust, Caution: The Story. Translated by Julia Lovell, Anchor Books, 2007.

Huang, Nicole. Women, War, Domesticity: Shanghai Literature and Popular Culture of the

1940s. Leiden: Brill, 2005.

Ishiguro, Kazuo. A Pale View of Hills. FABER & FABER LTD, 2010.

Yao, Sijia. “Female Desire.” Rocky Mountain Review (Rocky Mountain Modern Language

Association), vol. 71, no. 2, 2017, pp. 195-212.