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Abstract
In this paper I will explore the complex and troubled relationship between Kingston and the female characters she depicts. While Kingston is a popular literary figure whose work has often been analyzed with special attention to treatment of gender roles, the topic is largely unexplored in relation to The Fifth Book of Peace. Literary critics may have avoided this text, largely because of its unstable categorization as Memoir/Social History (made yet more difficult because it also contains a novella). However, I believe that the book is that much more deserving of critical attention, as it illustrates Kingston's real, working relationships in the world rather than simply showcasing her interpretation of a more fluid, imagined environment. Therefore, the relationship between Kingston and her female characters is particularly intriguing because she is not simply creating characters from scratch in this text; rather, she is recording deliberate interpretations of actual people, people who are already a part of the narrative, regardless of her consent. However, she maintains the power to include certain descriptions, details, and dialogue, while, ostensibly for the sake of creating a comprehensive narrative, also excluding other information. Thus, the content of The Fifth Book of Peace can be examined and interpreted to reveal more information about the ways that Kingston approaches women in her writing, both in the 1970s and in recent years.I argue that The Fifth Book of Peace relegates many women to simplistic categories that safely contain, interpret, and weave those women back into the story in new ways. It will be important to read these interactions through Kingston's relationship with her own Woman Warrior character. Using this relationship as a starting point, I identify two ways in which the text manipulates the depiction of female characters. On the one hand, it elides the presence of women, such as in the decision to use Woman Vet as the single representative of the Doughnut Dollies (and possibly of other women as well). This move erases any evidence of varied individual experiences and beliefs. Alternately, the text mythologizes female characters, as when Gail De La Fuente becomes "the Angels" (Kingston 2003, 313). In this case, such dubiously generous treatment serves the double purpose of elevating the idea of women while simultaneously containing them by reinforcing traditional gender roles. I explore these categorizations in order to bring the treatment of women in Kingston's work into conversation with her greater struggle to discover peace. This study will reveal the extent to which the text has embraced essentialism, discussing both the treatment of real women and the reinvention of the character of Fa Mook Lan, the Woman Warrior. Ultimately, I will explore the ways in which the shift in attitude toward the Woman Warrior has affected Kingston's struggle to represent men and women equally, as well as the way it has affected her new search for peace.