Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006. / Title from title page screen, viewed on April 30, 2007. Dissertation Committee: Thomas Crumpler (chair), Dent Rhodes, Ellen Spycher. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-195) and abstract. Also available in print.

This analysis of Tan's first two novels reveals that her female characters suffer from the strains critics like Amy Ling say result from the double paradox of filling the roles of mother or daughter as minority women in a white, male society. Recognizing this double paradox offers Tan's characters, and her readers, the opportunity to resolve the conflicts between mothers and daughters in The Joy Luck Club. Using the theories of psychologist Kathie Carlson helps readers understand how the protagonist of The Kitchen God's Wife resolves similar conflicts with her daughter and her own mother by seeking support from a mythic mother-figure, a Goddess of her own making.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [192]-208).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.