In Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang, Wang Chia-chih is a young actress who devises a plan with other conspirators her age to seduce Mr. Yee, the head of intelligence services, into a relationship with her so that she can have him assassinated in a plan to undermine the government. However, despite having a set plan with her co-conspirators that she will remain strictly acting in order to achieve the final goal of his assassination, right before the assassination takes place, Wang has a change of heart and alerts Mr. Yee to run and saves his life. Wang’s instantaneous decision leads to the execution of her entire conspiracy group, including herself. Why Wang decides to alert Mr. Yee is not clearly stated, however, she clearly ends up blurring
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Despite Wang never having sex with anyone and having an overall feeling of dislike for Liang, it is seen that “while she basked in the deady afterglow of her success, even Liang Junsheng didn’t seem quite as repellent as usual.” (Chang 25). Wang’s commitment to the conspiracy in this instance is profound in a few ways. First, Wang is once again seen to get caught up in the role she is playing because she finds him less repellent after they have sex; in her performance she was able to convince herself to have different feelings for Liang that were not “repellant” which is quite a substantial improvement. Secondly, it shows her commitment to the conspiracy because she is willing to “sacrifice herself” (Chang 24) and have sex despite not wanting to do so. Wang is literally giving over her body not only to Mr. Yee during her acting for the conspiracy, but to Liang in order to have a better performance with Mr. Yee. Within the cultural context of the time this story takes place, it is considered unorthodox to have such sexual relations, as seen when Liang is the only one out of a group of young adults whom has had sex. Wang is defying this social standard in order to be successful in the conspiracy, showing how dedicated she is to bringing down Mr. Yee and the government. However, despite this initial commitment, she still ends up blowing the conspiracy, displaying how much her outlook changes as the lines of reality and her acting are blurred from the time she initially decides to join the conspiracy and the end when she has had her relationship with Mr.
Despite Wang never having sex with anyone and having an overall feeling of dislike for Liang, it is seen that “while she basked in the deady afterglow of her success, even Liang Junsheng didn’t seem quite as repellent as usual.” (Chang 25). Wang’s commitment to the conspiracy in this instance is profound in a few ways. First, Wang is once again seen to get caught up in the role she is playing because she finds him less repellent after they have sex; in her performance she was able to convince herself to have different feelings for Liang that were not “repellant” which is quite a substantial improvement. Secondly, it shows her commitment to the conspiracy because she is willing to “sacrifice herself” (Chang 24) and have sex despite not wanting to do so. Wang is literally giving over her body not only to Mr. Yee during her acting for the conspiracy, but to Liang in order to have a better performance with Mr. Yee. Within the cultural context of the time this story takes place, it is considered unorthodox to have such sexual relations, as seen when Liang is the only one out of a group of young adults whom has had sex. Wang is defying this social standard in order to be successful in the conspiracy, showing how dedicated she is to bringing down Mr. Yee and the government. However, despite this initial commitment, she still ends up blowing the conspiracy, displaying how much her outlook changes as the lines of reality and her acting are blurred from the time she initially decides to join the conspiracy and the end when she has had her relationship with Mr.