Self-Othering and Subjectivity Crisis: Three Archetypal Paths of the Second-Generation Nora in Eileen Chang’s Novels

Yujing Ma

doi:10.6918/IJOSSER.202511_8(11).0007

Authors

Yujing Ma

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6918/IJOSSER.202511_8(11).0007

Keywords:

Eileen Chang (Zhang Ailing), Simone de Beauvoir, Theory of the Other, Second-Generation Nora, Self-Othering

Abstract

This study applies Simone de Beauvoir's existentialist framework of the "Other" to deconstruct the paradoxical subjectivity formation in Eileen Chang's female protagonists, delineating three constitutive patterns: Commodified Subjectivity (Ge Weilong, Bai Liusu): strategic embodiment of colonial-era erotic capital that ultimately reinforces their own commodification; Ethical Concession (Feng Biluo, Gu Manzhen): gradual internalization of patriarchal norms that systematically neutralizes resistance; Traumatic Reproduction (Cao Qiqiao): pathological reenactment of oppression through maternally transmitted violence.Chang's theoretical breakthrough manifests in her exposition of voluntary self-othering, wherein female characters consciously engage in self-delusion and auto-objectification. This dissection of female complicity and psychological vulnerabilities not only constitutes a creative development of Beauvoir's theory of the "Other" but also offers crucial insights for contemporary feminism, serving as a critical warning against the trap of "quasi-masculine liberation".

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