Mrs Spring Fragrance

Alice, or the “Inferior Woman” as she is referred to by the mother of the man who wants to marry her, is a self-made woman. Without family or connections, she had found work at a law firm and worked her way up to a position as a private secretary. While a man in her position would be lauded for his agency and hard work, Alice is looked down upon, showing that women suffered greater opposition to upward mobility than men faced.(“The Inferior Woman”)

The opposite of Mrs. Spring Fragrance, Pau Lin is incapable or unwilling to adapt to her new home in America. She does not only view American culture as different, or even inferior, but as evil. It is this unyielding worldview that leads her to commit infanticide.(“The Wisdom of the New”)

Pan, who has lived comfortably in Chinatown her entire life, is pressured by Mark Carson to choose between her Chinese self and her white self, as if the two cannot be integrated. Mark falls in love with Pan for everything she is, but in imagining a future with her, he can only do so if he is in denial about her Chinese heritage. It is not until her friendship with Mark, her first white friend, that Pan is forced to choose. After his betrayal, she chooses to identify as Chinese.(“Its Wavering Image”)

Miss McLeod is a beloved teacher is her Chinatown school because she respects local customs, tries to learn the Chinese language, and lives in Chinatown. Miss McLeod is one of the rare examples in this collection of someone from the dominant culture attempting to adapt to a minority culture. The dynamics are different, because even though Miss McLeod does face some suspicion from her Chinese neighbors, she does not experience institutionalized racism, as the other members of Chinatown do.(“The Gift of Little Me”)

Minnie represents someone whose personal characteristics make her a better fit for a culture other than the one she was brought up in. Minnie’s views on womanhood and marriage are much more aligned with Liu Kanghi and the residents of Chinatown than they are with her former husband James Carson and his hollow calls for women’s rights and social reform. (“The Story of One White Woman Who Married a Chinese” and “Her Chinese Husband”)

Liu Kanghi is everything that Minnie’s first husband is not—kind, traditional, and respectful. Unlike James, he seems to be able to love an actual woman rather than just the idea of women. The little friction that Liu Kanghi and Minnie have in their marriage is a result of her viewing him as her superior, but the outside world viewing him as inferior to her. They are able to overcome this because of their shared values.(“The Story of One White Woman Who Married a Chinese” and “Her Chinese Husband”)

Pau Tsu's husband pressures her to become Americanized soon after coming to Seattle for the arranged marriage. Her disillusionment begins to manifest itself physically as she gets sicker and sicker. Her new husband’s inability to see how his perception of his wife as lacking relative to his white American friends almost costs him his marriage.(“The Americanizing of Pau Tsu”)

Lae Choo is torn apart inside when immigration officials take her 2-year-old son. She cannot believe that a government would have laws in place to remove children from their mothers, but she is unaware that the United States has a long history of separating People of Color from their children. In the 10 months that Lae Choo is kept from Little One, the separation has done irreparable harm to their relationship, as well as to Lae Choo’s ability to transmit her values and culture to her son.(“In the Land of the Free”)

For Lin John, familial duty takes precedent over his own wants and desires. When faced with the choice of saving the woman he wants to marry or his sister, he prioritizes his family responsibilities over romantic love. His decision to save his sister is credited to familial duty, as opposed to his own attachment to a sister he has known his entire life over a woman he recently met. (“The Chinese Lily”)

Tie Co is a Chinese woman who disguises herself as a man to illegally immigrate from Canada to the United States. She subtly declares her affection for Jack Fabian, the smuggler she hires for the sole purpose of helping Jack out financially. When the authorities come to apprehend Jack, Tie Co sacrifices herself and jumps into the river. It is only after the police find her body does Jack realize Tie Co is a woman. (“The Smuggling of Tie Co”)

Sie is a woman who takes joy in being able to be of value to the men in her life. When she is given the choice to marry a stranger in order to free her father from slavery, she readily agrees. When her sweetheart tricks her into marriage, she leaves him behind in order to facilitate her father’s freedom. For Sie, her own version of slavery is preferable to having her father in bondage, and her father accepts his daughter’s sacrifice. (“The God of Restoration”)

Fou Wang is unyielding in his commitment to mourn his mother’s death. He has vowed to delay his wedding to O’Yam for three years, and even withholds his blessing from his sister and her betrothed. In honoring his mother, Fou Wang seems insensible to the pain he is causing to the women in his life who are still alive. His sense of familial duty is overdeveloped. In keeping with Chinese customs surrounding death and mourning, Fou Wang stifles his ability to flourish in a new environment.(“The Three Souls of Ah So Nan”)

Fin Fan is one of the most tragic figures in this collection of short stories. She was born a slave and sold into marriage, where she performs all the duties of a wife without receiving any of the benefits. Her one solace in life is her baby daughter, Jessamine Flower. Her husband and master hangs the threat of taking the child away over Fin Fan to make her work harder and do his bidding. Fin Fan's husband treats her and their daughter as disposable, and she dies in front of him. Her only true solace is dying without knowing that Jessamine Flower died before her in the accident. The story also illustrates the diverse experiences of women living in Chinatown. (“The Prize China Baby”)

Lin John’s sister has become accustomed to the life of being the kept woman of a wealthy merchant. Lin John’s sister has given up on all of her family’s values and completely succumbed to a life of materialism and individual wants and desires. Lin John’s sister retains only negative aspects of her native culture. While her brother is loyal and hardworking, she steals from him to facilitate an Americanized lifestyle—with nice things and pampering—even though her subservient position aligns with gender roles in China. Mrs. Spring Fragrance serves as a foil to Lin John’s sister, as the former finds a healthy cultural balance between her traditional Chinese customs and new American lifestyle.(“Lin John”)

Fin Fan relishes the relative freedom that living in Canada affords her. The irony is that her rebellious spirit is what draws her to Tian Shan, and now that they will both be deported to China, they will have to adjust their behavior to living in a more traditional society. Only in their native China will the couple have the freedom to wed and be together. (“Tian Shan’s Kindred Spirit”)