Introduction to Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior
Although Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior is the real heroin, it seems written as an autobiography by Maxine Hong Kingston, it starts with the quote of her mother, Brave Orchid advising her, “You must not tell anyone, “my mother said, “what I am about to tell you” (Kingston 1). Then the book ends with a song of a talk story her mother tells her. This clearly shows that the dominating figure of this autobiography is not Maxine Hong Kingston but her mother, who not only learns different skills but also tries to impart the same to her siblings including the eldest Kingston, so that they could survive the alien land. It is true that the cultural shock initially terrifies her, but her resilient nature soon leads her to adapt to the circumstances, as she did back in China when she turned to nursing. She learns laundry and survives tough circumstances in Stockton when the very survival of the family is at stake. Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior dominates it as a caring mother, a culturally trained person adept in survival, hardworking, and preserver of the traditions but also a brave lady.
Caring Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior
Orchid Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior is perhaps aware that her siblings, specifically girls, needs more care. The reason is that back in China, girls were not given any significance that is clear from her very first sentence that her father “had as sister who killed herself” (1) because of the illegitimate child she gave birth to. As Brave Orchid has had to go through trials and tribulations, she knows that her sibling could be very successful in her culture, but not here. Therefore, she tells them different stories including those of the repressive females such as that of her husband’s sister. She takes care of her, so that she could not go away from the family — a nucleus of all family members in the Chinese culture because she is “only fourteen years old” (32) and cannot take care of her properly. She is not only caring towards her own children but also to others. She advises Moon Orchid to find her husband telling her “Make him feel bad about leaving his mother and father” (71). She then takes her to her husband to demand her right that she forgives on his appeal. Telling stories is also a part of this caring nature of her.
Adeptness of Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior
Brave Orchid is also very adept. When she feels back in China that she cannot succeed in life, she instantly gets admission and become a doctor in order to survive and becomes a very successful person with a slave to whose she treats in a better way. However, when she reaches the United States with her husband, she instantly feels that her former skill is no more useful over there. She becomes a tomato picker, and then then opens a laundry business. She knows that she has to do something to support her husband to earn for her children, as he alone would not be able to do something. Kingston’s praise for her being a good woman like a scholar is due to this skill. She has to do much hard work in order to settle in Stockton. It is clear from the work she does for which she is not trained but she knows that if she does not do this, she would suffer a lot with her husband whose income cannot support the family. That is why Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior dominates the scene.
Traditional Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior
As far as her being a preserver of the traditions is concerned, it is right that Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior tells stories to her children, specifically to Kingston who narrates several of them in this book. The stories of her husband’s sister, of her own sister, of different mythical figures such as Fa Mul Lan, and characters demonstrate how she loves her own culture. However, as she feels that they are far away from their land, she can only inculcate these stories into her children by narrating them on a daily basis. She cuts her tongue in childhood so that she could learn the language and be able to speak it fluently. She wants her children to be Chinese where she things time paces more slowly than in the United States as she nostalgically remembers China as she states. ” I would still be young if we lived in China” (92). However, this shows her love forw her motherland. She also talks about the situation back home, the onslaughts of Communists, and the situation of the people. Her concern about her daughter is to preserve her culture. Moreover, Kingston has presented her as a brave woman, who has the courage to shoulder her sister and visits her husband to talk straight to him and look into his face. She even asks Moon Orchid to leave her husband lest he may face trouble on her count. She is very intelligent who takes charge of the whole household and dictates her own commands. She even uses myths for her sister as well, a way that she makes others understand her. She then urges her to “come out of the dawn” (101) and free her husband to whom she refers as an emperor. She has cut a very good figure in terms of setting up her family in California where even the survival of a person was thought a miracle at the time they reached America.
Conclusion
In short, The Warrior Woman does not seem to be about Kingston as it is not her feat to be bred up in the United States and then reap the fruits of her mother’s struggle. Rather it seems Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior shows it as the story of her mother who gave her whole life in order to produce Maxine Hong Kingston who have paid her rich tributes in this book. Not only she is presented as a brave and intelligent but a fiercely resilient lady who has the skills to survive even in the alien land and above all preserve her traditions and skills.
Works Cited
Relevant Questions about Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior
- How does Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston embody or challenge traditional gender roles and cultural expectations for women, both in Chinese and American societies?
- How does Brave Orchid’s storytelling in The Woman Warrior reflect the interplay between oral tradition and written narrative, and how does it impact her character development and relationships with her daughters?
- Throughout The Woman Warrior, how do Brave Orchid’s experiences as an immigrant and her encounters with discrimination and prejudice in America shape her identity and influence her interactions with her family, particularly her daughters?
