ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 details the introspective aspects of Han Suyin’s stories in The Crippled Tree series, namely, the ethical identity of “to be” versus “ought to be,” ethical dilemma as in the “two-door” paradox, China’s “self-strengthening” and soul-searching era. Using the lens of ethical literary criticism (ELC), this chapter expounds on Han Suyin’s soul-searching journey in the context of the forming of the new China. In this respect, Han Suyin’s writing amounts to an autoethnography. Besides detailing her changing identity and dilemma, her account of China’s evolution from the watershed of warfare, economic hurdles, and the reengineering of its socio-political structure during the 20th century also warrants attention. Han Suyin’s oeuvre depicts the period of China’s socio-political radicalisation in China, where her roots lay.
