In the early 20th century, China was a very different world; the women had no rights and poverty was destroying many people and families. Throughout the novel, The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck displays her strong emotion over how poorly men treated women and illustrates that in a marriage women were objectified instead of adored. The main character, Wang Lung, clearly demonstrates the way men may act if they lose sense of their moral compass.
As a young man, Wang Lung is beginning to realize that he may not be able to tend the land and keep him and his father well fed and healthy. To ease his mind, he decides to go to the House of Hwang and buy a wife; this concept of “buying” a wife already proves that women were thought of as purchasable items. “Her eyes were small and of dull black in color and were filled with sadness that was not clearly expressed. It was a face that seemed habitually silent and unspeaking as though it would not speak if it could.” (p.19) Wang and his father spent much time talking to each other about how it was not beauty in a woman that mattered but how hard she worked. In this quote the way Wang Lung describes the woman, O-lan, confirms that he truly believe that she is dull, yet not ugly, and knows that even though she is quiet she will be hardworking and faithful.
During the course of the first week, O-lan immediately settles in and acts as though she has been working for Wang Lung her whole life; she is not one of many words, yet what does come out of her mouth is always wise and knowledgeable. “He felt as though the night must have changed him; yet here was this woman rising from his bed as though she had risen every day of her life.” (p.25) O-lan works hard on the land and takes good care of the old man. This quote tells the story of a woman who came from a troubled background yet puts all her cares behind her and works hard for Wang Lung. The concept of men treating women unfairly is shady in this part of the novel, seeing as though O-lan is just doing her duty as a slave, but the fact that woman were slaves and were eligible to be bought and sold, proves that it was not only men who were cruel to women but the entire empire of China.
Although Wang Lung has not yet shown the evil man money, and selfish ambition has turned him into, his decision to take away O-lan’s pearls in order to go the tea house a buy himself a concubine, reveals the true man Wang has become. Because he knows he will soon be bringing another woman into the house, he strips O-lan of her only wealth, lessening the chances of her leaving him and starting a new life somewhere else; she will have to continue to live and work under the control of Wang. This idea of controlling people by money is very similar to the ways of a communist country. Not only did Wang Lung take away O-lan’s pearls, but she will now have to suffer a life of watching her husband be filled with the satisfaction that she could never provide for him. "But O-lan returned to the beating of her clothes and when tears dropped slowly and heavily from her eyes she did not put her hand up to wipe them away." (p.188) This quote illustrates how strong of a women O-lan is and how evil of a man Wang has become. By taking away her pearls, he has taken away the thing that made her beautiful and turned her into an animal that can no longer be filled with love. Wang has lost the ability to morally decide for himself and because of this he strips O-lan of her identity as a wife and as an individual woman.
In addition to taking away O-lan’s pearls, Wang goes to town and buys himself a concubine named Lotus. As Wang Lung becomes wealthier and wealthier he believes he deserves a more beautiful woman to keep him company – leaving the loyal and faithful one behind. As money begins to seduce his mind he no longer wants a hardworking woman by his side but one whose outward appearance is more pleasing to him than O-lan’s. "And it seemed to Wang Lung that he looked at O-lan for the first time in his life and he saw for the first time that she was a woman who no man could call other than she was, a dull and common creature, who plodded in silence without a thought of how she appeared to others." (p. 169) The point that Buck is trying to get across, is when someone gets too caught up in worldly pleasures they can lose their ability to love. Through Wang Lung, Buck demonstrates the way men thought women were tradable objects; they cared more about their personal desires and less about the trouble they are causing others.
Buck describes the life of Wang Lung, a man who grew up in poverty and changed into a monster who had no respect for women, or anyone else besides himself. Because Buck spent most of her life in China, she was exposed to many instances where woman were being treated like objects and because of this, she felt compelled to address her emotions toward the issue. People in that past have taken advantage of women; they treat them as though they are creatures of nature who have no feelings. Even in today’s world these types of acts continue to be seen and not only are they from men to women. In the novel, The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck provides many examples of how women were treated unfairly by men and how in a relationship women were thought of as objects and not real human beings who need love and nourishment to live a normal healthy life.
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