Bonesetter's Daughter and Poisonwood Bible

Although the role of women is prevalent in The Poisonwood Bible, and The Bonesetter’s Daughter, each other portray women in a different light. Both novels portray their struggles to achieve independence and overcome oppression. While often times the women in each book will have similar issues with getting their voice heard, or not being suppressed by men, there are many other factors that play into these struggles, so they are different dependent on the character and book.
Cultural and religious subordination:
In both The Poisonwood Bible and The Bonesetter’s Daughter, cultural factors play into how women are perceived in society. In The Poisonwood Bible, much of how some of the female protagonists are treated is based off of the religious culture of their family. The father, being a minister, seems to justify everything in the name of God, and refuses to see any other way. Religion does not necessarily degrade women, but since the father is in charge of the religion for the household, and village in Africa, for that matter, he already maintains a superior position over others in his house. It seems that whatever he says is right, because he speaks in the name of the bible, therefore dictating how his wife and daughters should act. At times, the mother Orleana, as well as her daughters, like Leah for example, are too frightened to go against their father’s word. Thus it is possible that not only because their father is a male, but because he uses the cultural aspect of religion to justify his superiority, he maintains authority over them. For the Congolese women though, they are much more liberated than American wives, where they possess somewhat more equal footing with their husbands. However, from the narrator’s view they are also portrayed as more savage, perhaps indicating that for this time it was “right” for women to be subordinate. According to his religion, Orelana is also a “sin” to him, because he is physically attracted to her, and thus characterizes temptation, again showing how his rigid belief system seems to justify his treatment of her. Likewise, in The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Luling also experiences difficulty, in cultural aspects when attempting to succeed. In China at this time, the women’s’ quickest route to success or prominence in life was to marry into a business owning or just in general, well off family. When Luling becomes a teacher at the orphanage, it is surprising to others, like her sister for example who is so excited about her success in life, that she is able to hold such a position. Thus, Chinese culture, much like Christian religion was restrictive in terms of how far women could move forwards in society. Because of this Luling is very protective of her daughter but in the way that she wants her to stand up for herself, for example, with Art’s daughters who treat her somewhat disrespectfully. Thus, because Luling was so restricted in her life as a young woman, she does not wish for this to also happen to Ruth.
Generation gap:
Besides cultural and religious restrictions imposed on women, the generational gap also comes into play when considering how the voice of women can be suppressed. When Luling, in The Bonesetter’s Daughter, begins to tell her story, it becomes understandable as to why she may treat Ruth the way she does. As a young girl in China, not only did she occupy an inferior position in the way her parents could decide to do whatever they want with her, whether it be arranging her marriage or sending her to an orphanage, but everywhere around her women were being oppressed. Again, relating back to the culture aspect, in her time in China, women were still having their feet bound, thus showing the extremity of the suppression of women in the time that she lived. While Ruth may feel silenced by her mother in many situations, what she does not know is her mother’s story. Arguably, either her mother is doing it to instill in her that rebellious nature she could never muster up, or she is slightly overbearing, but just trying to protect Ruth. Likewise, Oreleanas daughters, in The Poisonwood Bible, also may question her decisions at times. Towards the end of the period of time for which they live in the Congo, her daughters, especially Rachel, wish to return to their modern, classic Georgia lifestyle. As she is pressed to leave, but cannot bring herself to do so, it becomes evident that she cannot stand up to her husband enough to leave him for what’s better for her and her daughters. Not until the end, when Ruth May dies, does she realize that it is time to go. Because it takes her so long to reach this point where she can finally acknowledge the importance of leaving the Congo, people, like her daughters for example, may criticize her for not doing so earlier. However, because she was brought up in a classic Southern American lifestyle, where women in her day tended to be subordinate to men, not possessing occupations much outside the range of housewives, she knows no other way. In this sense, the failure of her daughters to understand why she does not speak against their father is partially due to their failure to recognize the generation gap.