Ruifan Liu

Ruifan Liu

December 31, 2025

Sui Sin Far, Chinese American women, Stereotype, Femininity.

Sui Sin Far(Edith Maud Eaton), the “grandmother” of Chinese American literature challenges the traditional submissive, voiceless, obedient, and dependent stereotypes of Chinese women in her short story “Mrs. Spring Fragrance”. She redefines Chinese immigrant women as independent, emotionally intelligent, culturally adaptive and domestically authoritative with Mrs. Spring Fragrance as the embodiment of these qualities. Through her daily actions, Mrs. Spring Fragrance demonstrates a soft yet powerful female image in the anti-Chinese era. By portraying such a character, Sui Sin Far seeks to restore visibility to Chinese women who had long been marginalized or misrepresented in dominant narratives. In presenting the figure of Mrs. Spring Fragrance, she invites readers to see Chinese femininity as thoughtful, active and emotionally aware. This character construction reflects her deeper intention to reclaim a place for Chinese women in both literature and cultural understanding.

© 2025, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license