Similarities Between 'Bound Feet And Western Dress'
860 Words4 Pages
Throughout history there has been the constant societal struggle of balancing cultural traditions with the inescapable and unwavering global modernization. As societies are thrust into the modern age there is often a backlash of cultural stubbornness from many who are reluctant to let go of certain traditions. Bound Feet and Western Dress is the story of two women, Pang-Mei and Yu-I, who are from two very different worlds; but share a common cultural background and they explore this connection throughout the book. In their time together they deal with the challenges of old customs, an ever-changing world, and coming to terms with their Chinese heritage. Chang Yu-I’s story begins in the last days of Confucianism in China, where she and all other women were still viewed as nothing but…show more content… “In China, a woman is nothing. When she is born, she must obey her father. When she is married, she must obey her husband. And when she is widowed, she must obey her son. A woman is nothing, you see.” (p.6, Pang-Mei Chang) Yu-I opens with a description of her childhood days and her realization of a general lack of rights for women throughout the entirety of their lives. A constant servant to her parents, married at the age of 15 to Hsu Chiho-Mo whom she’d never met, and divorced during the pregnancy of their second child Yu-I sheds light on the harsh realities of the world for Chinese women during that time. “And now I understood what my amah had meant about being ‘neither three nor four.’ I was supposed to be a modern girl with big feet, but Hsu Chih-mo treated me as though I had bound feet.