Asian American and Pacific Histories
Open access
Peer reviewed
Abstract
Abstract
Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club explores the complex relationships between Chinese immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters as they navigate cultural identity and mutual understanding. This article examines how body discipline and female agency are represented across three generations in this novel. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s theory of disciplinary power, it analyzes An-mei Hsu, her mother and her daughter Rose in different historical and cultural settings. The mother’s flesh-cutting and strategically timed suicide reveal an agency that remains entangled with bodily injury; An-mei’s scar becomes a medium of maternal memory and testimony; Rose turns inherited memory into resistance within her marriage. Thus this novel shows how forms of resistance change as body memory is transmitted and reinterpreted across generations, contributing to the formation of Chinese American female subjectivity.
Direct answer
What can I do from this paper page?
Use this page to scan "A Foucauldian Analysis of Body Inscription and Female Agency in The Joy Luck Club" quickly: start with the summary and abstract, then check the authors, source, topics, and related papers. From here, open Scollr to follow Asian American and Pacific Histories research, save the paper, or map adjacent work.
Research areas
Follow related topics
Citation
BibTeX
@article{2026Foucauldian,
title = {A Foucauldian Analysis of Body Inscription and Female Agency in The Joy Luck Club},
author = {朱露 and XiXia Yu},
journal = {Literature Language and Cultural Studies},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.63313/llcs.9191},
url = {https://doi.org/10.63313/llcs.9191}
}FAQ
Using this paper in a discovery workflow
How do I find related work for this paper?
Use the related papers and topic links on this page as starting points. In Scollr, you can also open the paper and build a literature map around its references, citing papers, and related work.
How can I keep up with new Asian American and Pacific Histories research papers?
Follow Asian American and Pacific Histories research in Scollr. New papers from the topic flow into a personalized feed, and you can save useful studies to revisit later.
Can I cite this paper from this page?
This page includes a static BibTeX block for A Foucauldian Analysis of Body Inscription and Female Agency in The Joy Luck Club. Always verify the DOI, source, and publication details against the publisher record before submitting a manuscript.
Follow this research in Scollr
Follow the topics and authors behind this paper, save useful studies, and build a literature map when you are ready to go deeper.
Get the app