Mrs Spring Fragrance

One evening, Mark disparages Chinatown, saying that it is not beautiful. Pan answers how regardless, "it is [her] home" (51). Mark insists Pan is white: “[T]hey do not understand you […] Your real self is alien to them. What interest have they in the books you read—the thoughts you think?” (51). Mark asserts that Pan has to decide what she will be: “Chinese or white? You cannot be both” (51). Mark then sings to her, and kisses Pan, who is happy and in love. The next morning Mark starts working on the feature article he has promised his paper.

One day, Pan’s father comes in and says, “Cursed be his ancestors” (52).He then throws the newspaper at Pan’s feet. Mark has used his access to the Chinese-American community via Pan to write an exposé of the Chinese community, including secret religious rites. As a result, Pan's community feels betrayed. 

Mark has been out of the city for two months, working on assignment. He sent Pan a note when he left that included his new address, but he has not heard from her. As excited as he is to see Pan again, he is worried that there is a slight chance she is angry at him over the article he wrote.

When he goes to her, he finds her dressed in a Chinese dress. When he asks why she is dressed this way, she answers that it is because she is a Chinese woman. Mark protests: “You are not […] You cannot say that now, Pan. You are a white woman—white. Did your kiss not promise me that?” (54). Pan answers: “I would not be a white woman for all the world. You are a white man. And what is a promise to a white man!” (54).

After Mark leaves, a mother and child visit Pan. The mother tells Pan, “Thou wilt bear a child thyself some day, and all the bitterness of this will pass away” (54).