The New Year’s Sacrificeis about the double standards women faced in traditional Chinese culture and this is shown through the character called “XiangLin’s Wife”. She is referred to in terms of her husband and even this acts as a sign of how women were viewed as – as if they were undeserving of their own identity and a piece of somebody else’s property, to be controlled and not have a say in their own life choices.
There is an example of this sort of treatment in the story that I was appalled by. It was when XiangLin’s Wife is forced to remarry another man against her will because her husband dies. Similar events to this occurred in many other cultures as well, including my own which is why I think I feel so strongly about it. It may not be forcing a widow to remarry, but forcing a woman to marry at a very young age or to someone she does not want to.
I think the purpose of this story is to show that placing these sorts of double standards on women is wrong because XiangLin’s Wife suffers many other emotional hardships such as the death of multiple family members, an overall decline in her character (sunken eyes, broken spirit), signs of aging (grey hair, memory loss), and she dies in the end. I think all these misfortunate situations were included to emphasize the deeper impact that this kind of extreme unfair treatment can have on someone that is beyond a simple feeling of injustice.
I liked this story because of the message I took away from it and the fact that it sheds light on a subject I find interesting and reminds me of how much better life is for people now.