此論文探討陳玉慧在其半自傳小說《海神家族》中，如何從家、離家、返家和身份認同的角度闡述兩性關係。由於在歐洲20年流浪異鄉的經驗，陳玉慧特別關注「家」的主題。身為女性作家，她也從女性的視角描繪「海神家族」裡三代女人的離家、家庭際遇、與男性成員的互動關係。她的描述隱約指出家是女人的枷鎖、男人的庇護所。社會變遷、個人特質、與教育程度影響「海神家族」三代女性面對家庭問題、爭取自由、與實現自我的方式。在她筆下，曰治時代的綾子，戰後世代的靜子，由於叛逆的個性與富於冒險的精神，勇於逃離「（舅）父家」，然而，後來卻受制於父權思想，沒法掙脫「夫家」的桎梏；而生於1960年代的「我」則成功地脫離父權思想的控制，並追尋自我的完成。相反地，故事中捆綁女人的家，卻是林正男和ニ馬在外受到挫折後尋求安慰的避難所。另外，陳玉慧也在書中探討男性和女性，分別返回中國、琉球與台灣家鄉後，身份認同的轉變或強化。ニ馬對原本擁抱大半生的中國認同起了懷疑，卻又沒法全心接受台灣做為他的家，最後仍舊茫然於自己身份的歸屬。綾子和我則不受血緣、文化、與語言的拘限，認定居住或生養她們的台灣才是她們的家。於此，陳玉慧似乎暗示，在身份認同上，女性比男性更果敢、更堅定、更務實。

This paper explores the ways by which Chen from the perspectives of home, homecoming, semi-autobiography, Mazu’s Bodyguards. Due to Europe, Chen pays particular attention to the theme of “home”. As a woman, she also focuses on home, women’s leaving home and gender relations from a female perspective. She implies that home is a shackle to women but a sanctuary to men. Social transition, personal traits, and education affect the ways in which the female members of haishen family solve familial problems, pursue freedom, and exercise agency.
Thanks to their rebellious and adventurous spirits, both the grandmother and the mother, a young woman living during the Japanese and the post-war period respectively, are courageous enough to escape from their uncle or father’s home. However, dominated by patriarchal thoughts, they are unable to break the shackles of their husbands’. By contrast, “I”, born in the 1960s, finally throws off patriarchal bondage and gains her subjectivity successfully. On the contrary, the home which confines women is the sanctuary from which men seek comfort whenever they encounter troubles in society. In addition, Chen Yuhui also discusses the change and enhancement of national identification of male and female characters after their respective homecoming trip to China, Okinawa, and Taiwan. Erma begins to doubt his Chinese identity, which he has assumed for most of his life, but is still unable to consider himself a Taiwanese. He ends up being ambivalent towards his identity. Nevertheless, Linzi and “I” identify with Taiwan, despite their different lineage, cultures and languages from the Taiwanese. Here, Chen seems to imply that women are firmer, more courageous and pragmatic in terms of national identification.