I feel like this is a good story that shows the ideals of a community rather than focusing on the positive, this story focuses on the some ‘negative’ parts of Chinese culture. The women is referred to as Xiang Lin’s wife and she is portrayed as a person who has a had a traumatic life which started with the death of her first husband. I see how the story uses the aspect of a second-class-citizen as the term which is used in many countries around the world. It is the very opposite from the aspect we as Americans use as—equal. In fact she is looked down upon from society itself. She ran away from her family however her family kidnaps her to marry her off for their own gain. She is married off and becomes worn out as a result of being forced into marriage. However she adjusts with time and even with a son who she loves dearly. The story is so dramatic that her second husband dies and her son also dies. At this point people would normally show compassion. However there was no compassion shown to this women. Her traumatic life was met with her being treated as an outcast, not only by the place she formally worked at, but as society in general.
This story does a good job of portraying some traditional cultures that hold a negative standard for women in which they are expected to live a certain way and have a certain life. Lu Xun really goes into the story to show the way that these traditional values have to be changed. I like the way that she uses one character and focuses on aspects of the women life to show how these value limit the individual person and the society as a whole from moving forward.
