Thursday, January 17, 2013

Time To Enter The 21st Century



I enjoyed Sun Flower and the Secret Fan so much I decided to read Lisa See's other book, Shanghai Girls.  This one takes place from 1937 to 1957 but the message to women in that era is the same, OBEY, OBEY, OBEY.  First, it is the father, then the husband and when widowed, the son.

The story repeats today.  The American wife would not obey.  The husband got abusive.  The mother came to live with them to help care for the child.  She too, would not obey.  He sent her away. 

The husband and wife are no longer together.  Although he lives in the 21st century his mind set is still in the 1800's.  He will not let go of old ideas.   He has found a new Chinese woman to be with.  He hopes she will OBEY, OBEY, OBEY.   She might, for the minute.  If he wants any happiness, he must grow with the times.  Women no longer bind their feet or bow to everything a man says just because he is a man.

1 comment:

burntoutteacher said...

Thanks so much for the recommendation. I too just read Sun Flower and loved it. (Maybe I saw your recommendation here on your blog?) I will immediately request Shanghai Girls from the library.