“Womanhood and Eroticism,” Anne Charlotte Leffler
Although not well known worldwide, Anne Charlotte Leffler is one of Sweden’s main authors from the late 1800s/early 1900s, writing largely feminist works relating to equality of the sexes. In this short novella, she explores the relationship between one woman and one man, and the expectations the man has of the woman, which are largely influenced by the society in which they live in. When the man proposes marriage and the woman refuses, he says that ageless trope that many women know all too well: “Well if you weren’t interested, you should have expressed your non-interest instead of leading me on!” Ugh, huge eye roll. The more I read, the more disillusioned I become. That women today are still facing the same issues and sexist commentary that we were 100 or 150 years ago is disgraceful, and makes me wonder where the progress really is, and when it will truly come.
“The Joy Luck Club,” Amy Tan
One of Tan’s most famous novels, “The Joy Luck Club” focuses on four Chinese families who have immigrated to the US, and tells the struggles they faced not only back in China but also upon their arrival to California. It is told through the perspectives of the mothers and their daughters, mainly through childhood anecdotes and major life events. Perfectly entwining Chinese culture with American life, Tan draws the reader in and makes her feel intimately related to the problems and growing pains felt by the narrators. Her pain is my pain; we all share the same pain and are connected to it by our shared gender.