The Struggle of Xiang Lin's Wife Kaleaf James |
| Lu Xun's story New Year's Sacrifice describes the sad story of a woman
who endures much in her life and shows how it effects her throughout her
later years and her fears of how it will effect her in the afterlife. The
traumatic events that took place early in her life along with disrespectful
comments from those in her community led to a fear in her mind about what
would happen to her after she died. The story is an indictment of traditional Chinese ideals. This woman, who is referred to as Xiang Lin's Wife, is often marginalized. In her early life, the woman lost her first husband and, as is finally revealed, ran from her remaining kin to live elsewhere and work for a family in the area. As a widow she becomes a secondary citizen in the eyes of others in her community. She is looked down upon but this seems to be preferable to how she is seen by those around her later in the story. Despite her determination to have a quiet and simple life of servitude she is later kidnapped by the family she once ran from. This family forces her to remarry for their own capital gain. The woman fights so desperately to escape a second marriage which goes against all her religious beliefs. Lu Xun really shows the problems in beliefs and is able to portray them through this story in a way that will make the reader step back and say to themselves "this isn't right." By constantly showing this poor woman going through traumatic life changing events and then showing how those who should care for her show no compassion for her circumstances, Lu Xun is able to reveal these flawed ideals to the public. Finally forced into submission she is married and the character really becomes mentally and physically torn down on her return to the story. Not only is the woman torn about as a human being by this great trauma in her life but also she later gives birth to a son who she loves dearly. The narrator informs us that overtime she adjusts to her life and while it assumed she is not as bright and joyous of a person as she once was she is satisfied in life once again. She once again is tested in life in a way few could imagine as her second husband dies and her son is killed by a wolf. She returns to the town she once worked in and to her previous employers a broken human without the spirit she once had and is only met by superstition and treatment deserved by an outcast. These terrible events cause her to question what her religious beliefs have in store for her and Lu Xun again is able to show Chinese ideals in a type of double standard held over women in these traditional views. Through looking into the meaning of this story just a little deeper than the sad story of a poor woman one can see how Lu Xun has cleverly used this story and an extreme example of many traditional views that may need to be reconsidered and adapted to better suite the people of China. The New Years Sacrifice really goes into great detail portraying the traditional views and how they can be used to debilitate a society and limit the mind of the individual. |
A Review of Lu Xun's Selected Works Derek Rundell |
It is perhaps most appropriate to view Lu Xun as a critic who was aloof from both traditional China and the revolutions of his time that sought to overturn the old system; and who, as a consequence of his distance from the revolutionary movements, held significant sway to shape and correct them. Moreover, it is essential to note in Lu Xun the sympathy with which he treats many of his invented revolutionaries that he criticizes within his works. On one level, Lu Xun writes to express his frustration and doubt for the movements. Being a revolutionary himself, he shares a great deal of empathy with the problematic heroes he creates. Furthermore, it is impudent to conclude that Lu Xun had no shred of hope in the prospect of transforming those aspects of his society that he disliked, for why should he have written at all if he had already surrendered the battle? Certainly Lu Xun disapproved of most in what he saw as traditional Chinese values and customs. However, although it is the case that his works express the deep discontentment he felt for China’s outdated system, his writings would have lost so much of their profound depth if the content of them had ended there. What made his writing so pertinent then and so unique today is the manner in which he condemns traditional morals while at the same time criticizes the revolutionaries and their movement, the one of which he was a huge part. Above all else, Lu Xun describes the frequent failure of two opposing views to negotiate with one another by detailing the flaws of particular rebellious individuals and the shortcomings of their efforts. One might suspect the simplest way to solve any bout of disaffection for one’s society is to plainly remove oneself from it, literally or figuratively. However, Lu Xun expounds upon the futility of this as a relevant solution by explaining the tragic consequences that follow several of his characters when they venture to reject their culture and heritage. Lu Xun was Chinese first and foremost, and despite his passion for the Western world and what he considered its supreme ideals he could not easily abandon his country. No matter what he most desired or where he chose to place himself on the globe, his heritage would never desert him. To live by an alternative lifestyle in disregard for one’s social environment is the equivalent of endeavoring to practice one’s ideas in a vacuum. The bulk of Lu Xun’s ‘New Year’s Sacrifice’ focuses upon Hsiang Lin’s Wife and serves as criticism of China’s old values. However, the introduction and conclusion of the story delve into the failure of an intellectual to take a stand and assert himself. Perhaps fearing an outcome similar to the ‘madman’s’ the narrator of this story founders when confronted by the forces he disdains and fails to put his ideas into practice. When the decaying, ragged Hsiang Lin’s Wife asks him whether a person “turns into a ghost or not” upon death, he is provided with an opportunity to use his authority to make an impact (Sacrifice 2). Instead, he is nervous, embarrassed, and ambiguous in his answer; he does not commit to any single response and thus takes no moral stance. The narrator’s greatest flaw is his fear of causing a disturbance. Like Juansheng, he cannot be called a true revolutionary for Chinese values are still too ingrained in his thinking, as seen by the way he continues to follow the motto “Don’t disturb anyone’s mind” (Mara Poetry 101). The problems of the flawed narrator help the reader to understand the difficulty of remaining courageous in the face of such an insensitive void. To assert himself firmly is to put himself in risk of being persecuted by his cannibalistic countrymen, something the ‘madman’ knows all too well. However, in remaining silent he forfeits his chance to awaken a mind or two to the truth. The narrator, similar to Juansheng, practices his ideas in a vacuum, never seeing them actualized in reality. Where Juansheng fails is in his detachment from reality, the narrator of ‘Sacrifice’ is unsuccessful due to his reluctance to completely depart from an outdated system that still provides him with some comforts. In light of the fact that the narrator will not, out of a dislike for disruption, share his opinions, the minds of those around him will remain ignorant. He cannot hope for reconciliation between his ideas and those of the masses if the two never eating meet: the commoner’s are never even permitted a moment’s glance to the elite liberal ideas. |