Self-Othering and Subjectivity Crisis: Three Archetypal Paths of the Second-Generation Nora in Eileen Chang’s Novels

This study applies Simone de Beauvoir's existentialist framework of the "Other" to deconstruct the paradoxical subjectivity formation in Eileen Chang's female protagonists, delineating three constitutive patterns: Commodified Subjectivity (Ge Weilong, Bai Liusu): strategic embodiment of colonial-era erotic capital that ultimately reinforces their own commodification; Ethical Concession (Feng Biluo, Gu Manzhen): gradual internalization of patriarchal norms that systematically neutralizes resistance; Traumatic Reproduction (Cao Qiqiao): pathological reenactment of oppression through maternally transmitted violence.Chang's theoretical breakthrough manifests in her exposition of voluntary self-othering, wherein female characters consciously engage in self-delusion and auto-objectification. This dissection of female complicity and psychological vulnerabilities not only constitutes a creative development of Beauvoir's theory of the "Other" but also offers crucial insights for contemporary feminism, serving as a critical warning against the trap of "quasi-masculine liberation".