I am currently on page 164 of 208.
The main problem in my book, and the main problem it is trying to portray and illustrate is women's rights and the problems they had to face to get even any where near the 'standards' of a male. They were expected, and not only in China, to stay at home, marry at a very young age, have children at a very young age and stay home and observe the household and sew from a very young age. When I say young age, I mean around 17 or even 16. One of the huge things that a woman would have to face in China in the early 20th century was the traditional feet-binding process. This is a painstaking process, wherewhich the woman is expected to have a feet 'crushed' and made about 3 times smaller. Of course, this is not only a painful process but affected the Chinese women for their whole life. Unfortunately, this process was mandatory since it was very unlikely for a man to wish to marry a woman who didn't have bound feet. It was considered 'elegant' and 'rich.'
For many Chinese woman, they didn't take the things I mentioned seriously, and just went with them, not really caring about the unfairness and inequity of them. The main character in the book I'm currently reading was not one of those women. She, unlike the majority, wished for a good education and an experience of the Western world. Unusually, her feet were not bound. She was forced to marry at the age of 16 or 17 (one of the two) and had her first child at the age of 18. The tradition after you had your first child was to stay with your in-laws. This may not seem that bad, but this meant enduring 5-hour long tea sessions talking about the progress of the baby and future plans for it. The rest of the day one was expected to sew shoes for the family with your mother - in -law. A lot of the time, the women were lucky and had fairly good relationships with their husbands. Unfortunately, for the main character in my book, she hardly every spoke or saw her husband since he spent the majority of his time in the West.
I think it is very unfair that the women in early 20th century China had to deal with these types of things, especially as they knew nothing else.
The main problem in my book, and the main problem it is trying to portray and illustrate is women's rights and the problems they had to face to get even any where near the 'standards' of a male. They were expected, and not only in China, to stay at home, marry at a very young age, have children at a very young age and stay home and observe the household and sew from a very young age. When I say young age, I mean around 17 or even 16. One of the huge things that a woman would have to face in China in the early 20th century was the traditional feet-binding process. This is a painstaking process, wherewhich the woman is expected to have a feet 'crushed' and made about 3 times smaller. Of course, this is not only a painful process but affected the Chinese women for their whole life. Unfortunately, this process was mandatory since it was very unlikely for a man to wish to marry a woman who didn't have bound feet. It was considered 'elegant' and 'rich.'
For many Chinese woman, they didn't take the things I mentioned seriously, and just went with them, not really caring about the unfairness and inequity of them. The main character in the book I'm currently reading was not one of those women. She, unlike the majority, wished for a good education and an experience of the Western world. Unusually, her feet were not bound. She was forced to marry at the age of 16 or 17 (one of the two) and had her first child at the age of 18. The tradition after you had your first child was to stay with your in-laws. This may not seem that bad, but this meant enduring 5-hour long tea sessions talking about the progress of the baby and future plans for it. The rest of the day one was expected to sew shoes for the family with your mother - in -law. A lot of the time, the women were lucky and had fairly good relationships with their husbands. Unfortunately, for the main character in my book, she hardly every spoke or saw her husband since he spent the majority of his time in the West.
I think it is very unfair that the women in early 20th century China had to deal with these types of things, especially as they knew nothing else.
Gwendy, that was awesome. You should try reading Bound. It's like a chinese version of Cinderella. Love the info you gave. I am hooked
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