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the word “farmer” and “peasant” in 20th century American ideologies: the former is related to the concept of cultivating the frontier, the virgin land, which is vital to America’s self-image; the latter evokes a picture of feudal Europe or, in the case of The Good Earth, Chinese feudalism.16 Published during the height of the Great Depression, The Good Earth depicts a “farmer” who is not so different from the frontier farmers working in the American virgin land, rendering it “particularly appealing to Depression Americans.”17 Despite potential interpretations of Orientalism, The Good Earth has an atemporal quality—a timelessly attractive theme of “rags to riches.” Most importantly, the Chinese body, represented by Wang Lung’s labour on his land in this novel, transcends the boundary of nations. In a sense, not only is Wang Lung an American invention, but he is also simply an American. One can further argue that, due to the universalizing aspect of this novel, the body of Wang Lung represents the alternative to the working bodies of worldwide labourers under the influence of global capitalism. Instead of working for “the machine,” Wang Lung returns to nature and works for himself. However, following this line of logic, the interpretation of the ending brings forth some troubling questions. In his old age, Wang Lung lives in the inner court of a mansion and looks “no more to see how the skies were over the land.”18 Still, he has a connection to his land and exclaims “evil, idle sons!” when his sons deliberate on selling the land.19 However, after his sons assure him that they will not sell the land, they look at each other and smile. The novel ends with this ambiguous scene that leaves the reader to ponder: what is the future of the Jeffersonian democratic ideals presented in the novel? Will this idyllic rural economy be swept away by the forthcoming revolution? Will Wang Lung as an embodiment of the ideals of Depression-era Americans be wiped out by a new generation of bourgeois capitalists? By asking these questions, one can speculate the underlying anxieties about—or even perhaps the fears of—where modern economics are steering the world in this novel.
The next part of this paper aims to discuss a form of labour that can be often ignored or considered secondary to the general discussion of labour, namely women within labour. Although both novels portray intelligent, strong female characters who are well adjusted to the world around them, their roles seem marginal or secondary to the experience of the male protagonists. However, instead of arguing that the two authors overlooked the significance of female labour—or that they even sought to promote misogynistic attitudes—I argue that due to the limit of focus on the male protagonists, the scope of women’s suffering is unfathomable to readers. However, an embryonic form of sympathy is manifested through the transformation of these two male characters. There is no denying that in both stories there is a startling amount of misogynist remarks made by Xiangzi and Wang Lung. Xiangzi refuses to let women ride in his newly purchased rickshaw and deems women’s words unworthy to listen to, even though he himself is a reticent, inarticulate man. There is also the moment when Xiangzi ponders on his helpless decision to go back to Hu Niu, a dominating woman of a Machiavellian type: “it is like buying junk; in the midst of all the rusty iron and bits of copper are some gleaming and colorful little things you cannot resist.”20 Lydia Liu criticizes this comparison as “probably the most misogynist thing that Lao She ever wrote.”21 This criticism is justifiable in her analysis that, due to the narrative style, there is no clear boundary between the narrator and the character’s discourse and consciousness. Any remarks made on Xiangzi’s behalf could be interpreted as the narrator’s thoughts as well. However, regardless of Lao She’s personal stance, the profusion of misogynist comments is quite consistent with the character of Xiangzi, and these comments only make the gradual downfall of Xiangzi all the more poignant. One of the biggest ironies of this story is that, although Xiangzi looks down on women and denigrates them throughout the novel, in the end, he understands the hardships and the futility of everything through his experience with women and the adversity women face,