Paviljon žena

On her fortieth birthday, the beautiful, dignified, and exceptionally capable Madame Wu makes a decision that will shake the entire grand house: after 24 years of marriage and the birth of her sons, she withdraws from the marital bedchamber. She calmly and decisively informs her husband that she no longer desires physical intimacy and chooses for him a young, simple concubine from the village – Pearl Blossom – to take over her marital duties.

This seemingly small change sets off an avalanche. The grand Wu house, with more than sixty family members, servants, and relatives living in a shared pavilion complex, begins to fall apart. Sons and their wives rebel, old customs are disrupted, and the previously perfectly ordered world of traditional Chinese aristocracy enters a crisis.

Freed from the daily obligations of marriage and household, Madame Wu has time for herself for the first time in her life. She begins to read forbidden books, learn English, and reflect on life, love, duty, and the meaning of existence. The key figure in her transformation becomes Brother Andre, an excommunicated Italian priest – a free-spirited, profound and humane man who opens up new perspectives on love, faith and human freedom for her.

As the family structure changes, Madame Wu slowly discovers that she has lived her entire life out of duty, never out of true love. Her journey towards inner freedom and true love (which comes unexpectedly and late) forms the core of the novel.

Here, Buck masterfully portrays life in a large Chinese household – hierarchy, rituals, intrigues between women, relationships between mothers and sons, rival wives – but also subtly questions the traditional roles of women, marriage out of duty and the possibility of personal rebirth in the midst of a rigid patriarchal system.