The Woman Warrior; Buddhist imagery; Buddhist journey; silence; meditation; self; cultural identity; koan; martial arts
摘要
Buddhist imagery in The Woman Warrior can be interpreted as part of a Buddhist journey, a journey to observe and realize the nature of the self as mutable and indefinable; this concept of self becomes transcendent through the novel to the reader by a participatory process which calls for insight beyond the illusion created by the narrative itself. Through an exploration of Buddhist inspired images – silence, seated mediation, the concept of the self as observer, koan, martial arts, the role of suffering and even aspects of transmigration and time – the struggle or journey to define a self transcends the idea of cultural identity and linear narrative that adds to existing critical discussions of the text.
