The Shaping of the Other and the Speech of the Self—Interpretation of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan from a Imagological Perspective

Abstract

Chinese American writer Lisa See’s novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan focuses on the Yao minority in China, bringing the ancient and mysterious culture of nu shu to the world. This paper will combine the relevant theories of comparative literary imagological studies to explore Lisa See’s portrayal of the complex image of “China” as the “Other” in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and the reasons for its creation. And then to unearth the image of “Self” reflected through the image of the “Other”, that is, Lisa See’s concern for feminism and her identification with her own identity as a Chinese American, and to further understand the relationship between the “Other” and the “Self”.