＂Korean, American, and Korean American＂: Searching for a Korean American identity in Mira Stout's One Thousand Chestnut Trees

Abstract

In One Thousand Chestnut Trees (1998), Mira Stout fictionalizes her own identity problem and her mother/daughter relationship. The protagonist, Anna, is confused about who she is and needs to define herself because of her multiple identity such as a half-Irish, half-Korean, Ivy-league graduated, middle-class, artist in America. In the beginning, Anna has a vague and wandering self-image in New York so that she cannot paint well as an artist. The affair with Anna's boyfriend, Harry, raises a serious question about her identity. When she meets Harry's family, Anna is alienated from them and even disdained, due to her ethnic and family background. In this context, through her actual journey to Korea, Anna begins to understand her mother's past, culture, and eventually gain her Korean spirit and pride. By finding her mother and herself in Korea, Anna recovers her own vigorous energy in her life. She confirms her own “Koreanness” and accepts her Korean side of identity. Just as Anna, Stout struggles to establish her own identity by writing this novel, and she finds her Korean heritage as well as her family values and pride. As second generation Korean Americans, both the character, Anna, and the author, Stout, succeed to establish their identity as Koreans. When they can define themselves as "Koreans," they can finally find their place in the society as "Americans" and "Korean Americans" as well.