Bonesetter's Daughter and Poisonwood Bible 3

Relationship with Men:
How women are treated by the men in their lives also dictates their social standing. Luling’s first husband, Kai Jing, was extremely supportive of her, which was somewhat unlike other marriages in China at the time, like that of her sister Gaoling, and Chang Funan, for example. Where they are on equal footing, and recognize each other’s thoughts and feelings to be important to one another, Chang Fu Nan treats Gaoling as his servant, who holds no more importance in his life than supplying him money for his opium addiction. The relationship of Gaoling and Chang is very similar to that of Eben Axelroot and Rachel, where he also sees her as subordinate to him where she is obliged to satisfy his needs, but he is not entitled to doing anything for her in return. Rachel and Axelroot are both alike in their cunning deceptiveness to get what they want, but when it comes to matters in their relationship, Axelroot, as the man, always takes priority. This also parallels the relationship of Orleana and Nathan, where she cannot speak out against him, thus showing how her thoughts matter less than his. Even with his daughters, Nathan shows this dominance, where he almost even resents them, causing one to wonder whether or not it would be different if they were boys. Perhaps if they were boys, he would have listened to them when they spoke, and not have been so stubborn when they expressed their concerns with their life in Africa.
However, while there are relationships in The Poisonwood Bible that contrast those of Luling and Kai Jang, the relationship between Leah and Anatole mirrors it. Just like how Kai Jing is so open to Luling and holds her opinions to be o the same importance of his own, Anatole also expresses concern for Leah that goes beyond her simply being his housewife. In both the marriage of Luling and Kai Jing, and Leah and Anatole it is a true partnership where both individuals stand in equal status. However, the only extremely evident difference is that Leah is somewhat alienated in her daily life. Living as the one white women in a community of Congolese, she feels inferior in that she is unlike everyone else. However, since Anataole does not seem to focus on this, she is not oppressed in her relationship with him. Thus, while it is evident that often times a woman in society’s relationship with the men in her life can further oppress her, it can also raise her up to equal importance if they support her.
Women in both the novels, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, and, The Poisonwood Bible, endure oppression, where often times, they come out of it in the end with a more concrete realization of where they are expected to stand in society, and the potential they have to elevate this position. Depending on the factors that limit their voice and ability to speak out, the women in these stories had to realize just how restricted they were in order to move forwards. If they can come to acknowledge their need to obtain indepe3ncene form limitations in society, they can then also acknowledge their potential to take opportunities and succeed.