The difference between men and women is a topic that forms the basis of much conflict, speculation, and dramatic tension in literature. In Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts and China Men, Hong Kingston draws comparisons between the emotions of men and women through the involvement of the narrator.
The narrator of a novel is an often-overlooked character. When reading, we rarely take into account how the background and personality of the narrator could influence the retelling of events. In The Woman Warrior, Hong Kingston gives the book a distinctly feminine tone by making herself an involved and opinionated narrator. The stories here effect “Maxine” on a much more personal level. She relates each story to her personal life. In “No Name Woman”, Maxine compares her aunt's possible adultery to how she herself coped with boys in school. “As if it came from an atavism deeper than fear, I used to add “brother” silently to boys' names. It hexed the boys, who would or would not ask me to dance, and made them less scary and as familiar and deserving of benevolence as girls” (WW 12).
Integrating herself into the talk-stories serves as a testament to Maxine's womanhood. In “White Tigers”, Maxine places herself in the shoes of Fa Mu Lan. “She said I would grow up a wife and a slave, but she taught me the song of the warrior woman, Fa Mu Lan. I would have to grow up a warrior woman” (WW 20). Instead of simply reciting various talk-stories, Maxine uses each one to develop facets of her femininity. She takes on each story as a life lesson. The female nature can be associated with strong emotions, and Maxine's comparison of her life to the stories
As narrator in China Men, Maxine is much less personally involved in The Woman Warrior. Not only is she less present in the book, but she uses the talk-stories more to provide commentary on men's behavior rather than as a parallel to her own experiences. The grandfather in “The Father From China” exemplifies this theme in his doting over the female baby. “He walked slowly, adoring the peachy face. He sat by the side of the road to look at her. He counted her pink toes and promised that no one would break them. He tickled under her chin” (CM 20). Instead of taking the story and comparing it to herself, Hong Kingston elaborates more on the individual characters from a distance.
Characters in China Men also are less emotional then those in The Woman Warrior. “He grew the habit of clamping his mouth shut in a line, and the sun baked that expression on him.” (CM 114) Bak Goong keeps his thoughts and feelings inside of him, instead of expressing himself. The stories in China Men lack the emotional and personal involvement that was seen in The Woman Warrior. The author's perspective here can be seen as being representative of the masculine nature of not having ones emotions so close to the surface.
Hong Kingston supported this difference in an interview with the New York Times in 1980:
''In a way, "The Woman Warrior" was a selfish book. I was always imposing my viewpoint on the stories. In "China Men" the person who "talks story" is not so intrusive. I bring myself in and out of the stories, but in effect, I'm more distant. The more I was able to understand my characters, the more I was able to write from their point of view and the less interested I was in relating how I felt about them.'' By doing this, Hong Kingston draws parallels between the emotional make-ups of men and women.
