Emotional Estrangement of Su-Jen’s Mother in Midnight at the Dragon Café

Midnight at the Dragon Café, a novel by the esteemed Chinese-Canadian author Judy Fong Bates, portrays the experiences of three generations of Chinese immigrants in Canada through the perspective of Su-Jen. As members of a marginalized minority, they face both economic hardship and psychological struggles, further exacerbated by the constraints of a patriarchal society. These challenges foster a profound sense of alienation and estrangement, particularly for Su-Jen’s mother Lai-Jing, who not only endures systemic oppression from mainstream society but also experiences domestic pressures that contribute to her emotional detachment from others and herself. Erich Fromm’s theory of alienation, which explores human existential crises and psychological turmoil through the interplay of social structures, personal experiences, and psychological dynamics, provides a valuable framework for analyzing her estrangement. In light of the concepts of marginalization, loss of self authenticity and distorted relationships from this theory, this study seeks to uncover the underlying factors contributing to her disconnection from society, others and self. Through a hermeneutic textual analysis grounded in Fromm’s theory of alienation, this thesis aims to illuminate not only the roots and consequences of her emotional estrangement but also the broader struggles of women under patriarchal oppression and their ongoing pursuit of identity and self-authenticity.