Analyses of Love in a Fallen City and the Golden Cangue

For the bulk of the mid- to deeply-twentieth Century, Eileen Changs name and literary prowess fell into obscurity as a chair of events related to the heathen Revolution and her birth reclusion. In C. T. Hsias A Hi humbug of Modern Chinese Fiction, he praised Chang for her use of rich resourcefulness and profound exploration of human nature. In his book, he also claimed Chang to be the outflank and most important writer of mid-twentieth carbon China. Hsias remarks and Ang Lees buck ad quickation of her novella, Lust, Caution, waste helped to bring Changs name back onto the literary scene.deuce of her most well-kn confess and highly praised novellas argon Love in a locomote City and The Golden Cangue. On the surface, the stories attain the details of family activities, experience relationships, and conjugal union ceremonys that occupy casual sustenance in places like affect and Hong Kong, that beneath the simple patch lines, the stories personify the struggles of p issed- departed women inside the family surface bea during a tumultuous time of replace in China. Love in a travel City is a tell apart story between a divorcee, Bai Liusu, and a playboy businessman, devotee Liuyuan.As a divorcee, Liusu is obligate to return to her fathers home where she is an unwelcome fixture and an added stinting burden. In a turn of events, the man, Fan Liuyuan, who was supposed to be her nieces suitor, chooses her oer the niece, exacerbating her situation at home. With zip to lose, she follows Fan to Hong Kong where their love blossoms amidst the beginnings of the Japanese business sector of the city. The Golden Cangue follows the story of Cao Qiqiao, a widow who lives in anguish as a powerless young lady-in-law in a fuddled family.She was forced into an arranged marriage ceremony with a sickly man and treated seedy by her husbands family. later the death of her husband, she achieves indep wipeoutence and a venial amount of wealth, besides a fter long time of torment, she turns her own repressed fire towards her children. The some(prenominal) stories share similar sentiments in that they express the different struggles of women in the family setting. For Liusu, her struggle was to gain the acceptance of her family and love and affection from Liuyuan. In Qiqiaos case, her struggle was her search for an parry from her oppressive family demeanor.Eileen Changs use converse understands the strength of the women and her descriptions within the stories help to sop up the inner turmoil each cleaning lady faces. The story of Love in F onlyen City starts in the business firm devote of the Bai family. intelligence concerning the death of Bai Liusus ex-wife arrives from a family acquaintance. The news stirs up the issue of whether or non Liusu should return to her late ex-husbands home for mourning, as hardened by traditional family values. The possibility that her family would disseminate her back to her in-laws inf uriates her but she still frame composed. time she is in the weaker position in terms of family hierarchy, she holds the power in discourse be hunting expedition of her sharp tongue Liusu had now reached the whirligig of fury, but she simply laughed. Yes, yes, everything is my fault. Youre light? Its because Ive eaten you out of house and home. Youve lost your capital? It must be that Ive led you on. Your sons die? Ive preceptore it to you, Ive ruined your fate. (Chang, 114) While obviously upset, she remains composed. Rather than event her emotions to show physic eithery, she translates those emotions into oral communication.Liusus sharp retorts are common throughout the book and they show the strength of her character. She does not allow herself to bring into organism the victim and she responds with dagger-like words that show her rage and disappointment. The position Liusu notes herself in is a result of her familys lack of concern for her frequent well creation and happiness. As one of the younger female members of the family, she holds no power. Everything in her deportment happened because her family dictated her fate. She never had a picking in which direction she should take her life and she has become embittered because of her lack of independence.When she meets Fan Liuyuan, she takes her happens and follows him to Hong Kong. Her last to perish Shanghai has 2 implications. Firstly, she wants an outflow from her family. After years of following their rules and auditory modality their complaints just about her presence, she eventually has a chance to leave it all behind to amaze her own independence. Secondly, she is strangely attracted to Liuyuan and securing his love and economic aid is a conquest for her. After deviation Shanghai, Liusu stays in a hotel in Hong Kong and spends more and more time with Liuyuan. The both(prenominal) of them develop a relationship but their intentions are different.For Liusu, getting close to Liuyuan was a way for her to leave the Bai family. Liuyuan, on the opposite hand is seeking spiritual love. He professes his love for her on many an(prenominal) occasions, but she rejects him each time. Her goal in being in a relationship with Liuyuan is to pull in security and Liuyuans words hold no meaning to her, but kinda are examples of his playboy behavior Liusu was inactive for a while, but finally she go bad out Why not go ahead and just say, flat out, that you dont want to marry me, and leave it at that Why beat rough the bush, with all this talk of not being commensurate to ascertain things? notwithstanding a conservative person like me arouse say, First marriage for the family, second marriage for oneself. If someone as free and take as you are cant decide for himself, then who can decide for you? (Chang, 149) In her scolding of Liuyuan, Liusu states her views of marriage which are defined by her real life experiences. Her first marriage was an arranged marr iage that was to the benefit of her family, but for her second marriage she wants it to be for herself. She is seeking stability in her life and she does not think Liuyuan is apt to fill that void.As a good deal as she is attracted to him, she cannot see past his playboy charm. Her defenses and words show how she is strong- imparted and determined to afford right what went wrong in her life. throughout the novel, Fan Liuyuan expresses his love to Liusu. He claims she is a real Chinese woman and continues on to say, Real Chinese women are the domain of a functions most beautiful women. Theyre never out of fashion. (Chang, 135) Liuyuan loves Liusu and thinks of her as the ideal Chinese woman, yet he worries that she is burst of the trap of Chinese culture that wants him plainly for a convenient marriage.Therefore, he tries to take her away from China to Hong Kong the colony he even considers taking her to Malaysia and Africa, to primitive lands. By attempting to remove her from her native home, he is essentially taking away her power all oer him. He wants to force her into the spiritual love that he wants, undermining her position as a strong woman. In the end, the marriage does go through, but only because the war forced the two of them together. The two spate both ask selfish tendencies and neither could have been together in any opposite situation Hong Kongs efeat had brought Liusu victory. But in this unreasonable world, who can distinguish cause from effect? Who knows which is which? Did a great city fall so that she could be decipherable? Countless thousands of people dead, countless thousands of people suffering, after that an earthshaking revolution Liusu didnt feel there was anything subtle about her place in history. She stood up, smiling, and kicked the pan of mosquito-repellent odorize under the table. Those legendary beauties who felled cities and kingdoms were probably all like that. (Chang, 167)Because of all that she had to go throu gh, she likens herself to some other strong women in history who brought bug out cities and kingdoms. She secured her place in the world by overcoming all the obstacles that were presented to her. She managed to leave her oppressive family and find a second husband who will accept her as she is. Achieving her goals at the end validates her as a strong Chinese woman. The Golden Cangue presents a different story about a woman and her struggles with her family. same to Liusu, Cao Qiqiao is stuck in an unhappy family situation.As a daughter from a poor family, she was hook up with off to the son of a tight family. In her husbands family, she suffers from badinage and repression. As time progresses, she slowly loses her heed because of all that she has had to endure within the family. When she finally gains some independence, she completely loses all sanity and takes out her pent up anger on her daughter and daughter-in-law. Qiqiao, in many respects, is a strong woman. She had to put up with constant ridicule from her husbands family and she had no independence. Her resilience is characterized in her berth and actions towards her family.As a daughter-in-law, she suffered at the workforce of her husbands family, once she becomes a mother-in-law she perpetuates this cycle of torment and directs her bitterness towards her own children and daughter-in-law. In one instance, she believes her daughters feet need to be bound in order to attract suitors As she looked at them her feet, something occurred to her and she said with a cynical laugh, You may say yes but how do I know if youre sensible or silly at heart? Youre this bouffant already, and with a pair of big feet, where cant you go?Even if I could support you, I wouldnt have the energy to watch you all day long. Actually at long dozen its already too late for foot binding, it is my fault not to have seen to it earlier. Well start right now, theres still time. (Chang, 208) Qiqiao has reached a point whe re she lacks reasoning. every of her thoughts are convoluted and in her brainpower she has convinced herself that torturing her own children will be for their benefit. She is lost in her own misery because of the restraints move on her by her husbands family. She understands that her daughter has much more freedom than she did when she was younger.The actual finish to bind her daughters feet obviously comes as a result of jealousy. Since she had to suffer, so should her children. What makes Qiqiao a strong woman is her manifest insanity. She calculates and plots every action to her own benefits and pleasure. She understands that money and power run the world, and she does what she can within her means to feel superior over others. So the golden cangue is a symbolism of power and money. She wears the golden cangue as a burden on her conscience and she use it to get whatever she needed For 30 years now she had worn a golden cangue.She had used its heavy edges to eggbeater dow n several people those that did not die were half killed. She knew that her son and daughter hated her to the death, that the relatives on her husbands side hated her, and that her own kinsperson also hated her. (Chang 243) The golden cangue spoil her moral being and she had become a much hated person. She was driven by power and money but in the end, her actions and effort were all for naught. She loses power over her children and she is left to die in her misery. both(prenominal) characters, Liusu and Qiqiao, were products of their respective environments.The difference in the two women comes in how they take hold of their future. For Liusu, she knew she cherished an escape from her family and she took the reins of her life and got what she want with Liuyuan. Qiqiao on the other hand, attempted to get control of her life, but instead she got caught in the furiousness of being an opium addict. One woman was able to run low free from the social constraints placed on her while t he other was not. Qiqiao perpetuates the brute(a) cycle of family tradition that damaged her in the first place.So while she is strong in the sense that she is calculating and conniving, she fails to break the cycle that caused her misery and she is no revert out than other petty men. The two stories both capture the essence of Eileen Changs works. with her writing, she was able give voice to the thoughts of women. She shows a great range in her word-painting of women, from the weak to strong, cruel matriarchs. The works give insight into the condition of women during the early 20th century but on a larger scale they also break out the way in which women are change by their family life.