Comparing Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club 'And Anna Karenina'

Inequality, across generations of women. The stories of “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan and “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy depict women at odds with society. Although, the stories are set in different time periods and involve different cultures there are many similarities between them. The women are expected adhere to certain standards and this is still happening even today. Even though society is shifting the perception of the inequality in gender roles. Modern women have more options although they are still put under the society pressure to have children and a career. Women have come a long way on the path of equality but there is still a long way for them to go.
In Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”, Anna is a women in a loveless marriage created by her family due to good societal standing of her husband. …show more content…
The mothers in the story are much stronger women than Anna, due to the freedoms they do have. Although, they were given life such as arranged marriage to a wealthy man, or a marriage that ends in death each take their lives and forcibly change them. All of the mothers immigrated to American looking for lives that were freer than the lives they ran in China. Each of them faced strict standards set by Chinese society, but they were not ostracized like Anna was for refusing to follow the rules. Instead, they forged their own way and taught these principles to their daughters. In some cases the mothers feared the taught the wrong amount of Chinese or American principles, however the daughters proved to be truly modern women. The daughters are progressive and modern; they are free to make their own choices about their careers and the people they love. While this is true, they are still held to certain standards within society, it is expected to them to achieve a certain level of success to have a loving marriage and to have children while juggling that