Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
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| Snow Flower and the Secret Fan | |
| Author | Lisa See |
|---|---|
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Random House, Inc. |
| Publication date | 2005 |
| Preceded by | Dragon Bones |
| Followed by | Peony in Love |
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, a novel by Lisa See (2005), is set in China in the 1800s. In her introduction to the novel, See writes that Lily, the narrator, was born in 1823 -- "the third year of Emperor Daoguangs reign".[1] The novel begins in 1903, when Lily is 80 years old. During her lifetime, Lily lives through the reigns of four emperors: Emperor Daoguang (1820-1850); Emperor Xianfeng (1850-1861); Emperor Tongzhi (1861-1875); and Emperor Guangxu (1875-1908).
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Lily and her friend Snow Flower are a laotong pair,[2] related more closely than husband and wife. Lily's Aunt describes a laotong match this way: "'A laotong relationship is made by choice for the purpose of emotional companionship and eternal fidelity. A marriage is not made by choice and has only one purpose -- to have sons.'"[3]
The two girls are also bound together by experiencing the painful process of foot binding at the same time,[4] and by letters to one another written on fans with Nü Shu, a secret phonetic form of 'women's writing.'[5][6] In addition to the language itself, the young women learn Nü Shu songs and stories.
Although both friends are born under the sign of the horse, they are quite different. Lily is practical, her feet firmly set on the ground, while Snow Flower is a flying horse that attempts to fly over the constrictions of women's lives in the 19th century in order to be free. Their lives differ as well. Although Lily comes from a family of relatively low station, her beautiful feet play a role in her marriage into the most powerful family in the region. Lily ends up as Lady Lu, the region's most influential woman. Snow Flower is not so fortunate. She marries a butcher, culturally considered the lower of professions, and has a miserable life filled with children dying and brutal beatings at the hand of her husband.
The novel depicts human suffering in many ways: the physical and psychological pain of foot binding; the suffering of women of the time, who were treated as property; the terrible trek up the mountains to escape from the horrors of the Taiping Revolution; the painful return back down the mountain trail with dead bodies everywhere. Some estimate that the number of people killed during the Revolution was approximately 20 million.
The detailed treatment of the suffering which Lily and Snow Flower experience in their laotong relationship is a major aspect of the book. Lily’s need for love and her inability to forgive what she considers to be acts of betrayal cause her to inflict harm on many people, Snow Flower most of all. Believing that Snow Flower has not been true to her, Lily betrays her by sharing all her private secrets to a group of women, virtually destroying Snow Flower's reputation. When Snow Flower is dying, Lily is called to her bedside and tends to her until the end.
As the book returns to the present (1903), Lily is an 80 year old woman who has lived 40 years after her friend's death. Lily’s final words indicate that her love for Snow Flower remains: “But if the dead continue to have the needs and desires of the living, then I’m reaching out to Snow Flower and the others who witnessed it all. Please hear my words. Please forgive me.”[7]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Lisa See, introductory note, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. New York: Random House (2005)
- ^ Clea Simon. "Novel's Powerful Prose Brings History to Life." Boston Globe, 07/27/2005
- ^ Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, p. 43
- ^ "See's description of this process -- from the first wrapping and pain through the horrible shock of softened, pressured bones snapping -- is as graphic as if she's lived it", Clea Simon
- ^ Susan Kelly writes: "The secret fan of the title provides the folds in which the girls write to each other in Nü Shu, the secret phonetic 'women's writing' used by women in Hunan Province to communicate with each other" "Snow Flower Unfolds Secrets." USA Today, 07/13/2005
- ^ See comments on Nü Shu in her brief introduction to the novel: "It is believed that Nü Shu . . . developed a thousand years ago. It appears to be the only written language in the world to have been created by women exclusively for their own use", Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
- ^ Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, p. 253.
[edit] References
- Douglas, Carol Anne. "White Snakes and Secret Fans: Chinese Women in Fiction." Off our Backs, vol. 36, no. 3.
- See, Lisa. "The Ties that Bind." The Times (UK), 01/14/2006.
[edit] External links
- "Q and A: A Conversation with Lisa See and Her Mother, Author Carolyn See"
- "Chinese Foot Binding." BBC Home.
- Lousa Lim. "Painful Memories for China's Footbinding Survivors.
- "Nu Shu: A Hidden Language of Women in China". A film by Yue-Qing Yang. Women Make Movies.
[edit] Reviews
- Ellen Emry Heltzel. "Bound Women in Charge." St. Petersburgh Times, 07/17/2005.
- Claire Hopley. "A Wealthy Woman's Life in China Not So Long Ago." Washington Times. 09/11/2005.
- Susan Kelley. "Snow Flower Unfolds Secrets." USA Today, 07/13/2005.
- Janet Maslin. "Books of the Times; 2 Women Cling in a Culture of Bound Feet." New York Times, 08/15/2005
- Sara Payton. "Bound by Oppression and a Secret Tongue." San Francisco Chronicle, 07/03/2005.
- Clea Simon. "Novel's Powerful Prose Brings History to Life." Boston Globe, 07/27/2005.
- Anna-Marie Slaughter. "Beyond Beijing: China's Past, Present, and Future." All Things Considered, 08/25/08.
