Throughout history, society and its standards continue to play a major role in shaping the man and his own mental place in life. With these standards, come a man’s internal and external struggle to either fit in or become an outcast to those around him. If he decides to conform to the normalities of the environment around him, the man finds himself a stranger in his own skin, unable to wholly relate to himself or his own turmoil and forever dissatisfied with his situation. However, if he decides to stand on his own, he will find himself at a constant war with those who think him strange or idiotic for his beliefs and culture, but with time, he learns to cope and becomes comfortable in his own flesh. Pearl S. Buck portrays the struggle to fit in or stand out in her…show more content… As the first concubine, Sakota is constantly at the emperor's side and is favored by him, while Yehonala is given the opportunity to be forgotten by the emperor. Out of jealousy and stubborn scorn , Yehonala decides to do everything in her power to stay in Jung-Lu’s mind, catering to his mother’s every whim. Once she is called to the emperor’s court, however, she begins to ignore him and his affections, driving Jung-Lu up a wall and increasing his desires to have her. After copulation, Yehonala learns to manipulate Jung-Lu and soon overthrows her sister as his consort. Yehonala finds herself constantly fighting the venomous rumors about her and Jung-Lu that begin to spread, trying to keep the critical ideas from polluting her own mind to avoid self-sabotage on her climb to becoming the empress. Pavilion of Women tells the story of Madame Wu in the age of forty, an age seen as the end of a husband and wife’s intimate relationship as the woman enters the second part of her life. Deciding to spare her husband the dishonor of an old wife, Madame Wu declares that he will get an
