The foot-binding tradition for Chinese women has existed for centuries. Although no one is quite sure how it began, it is certain that foot-binding has affected the Chinese culture negatively and restricts Chinese women throughout history up until this point in time currently. To begin with, the novel The Three-Inch Golden Lotus takes the readers through the journey of a young girl named Fragrant Lotus and her unwinding into the restrictive culture that promotes footbinding. At a young age she is forced into the life of bound feet and already she has restrictions placed on her in society. Ultimately, the Chinese culture shown in The Three-Inch Golden Lotus enforces a foot-binding standard onto young females such as Fragrant Lotus, thus restricting
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To start off, the culture manipulates people into thinking that relationships should only be meant for status, and not love. Consequently, it enforces a relationship expectation that makes people think only about wealth and social standings. Therefore, people in this culture do not date or marry out of love as a healthy relationship should be based on. For instance, Fragrant Lotus agreed to marry the eldest Tong son before she had even met him, only because he came from an esteemed family. Consequently, “[...] when Tong Ren-An [wants] to buy a daughter-in-law, he could buy a good one” (Jicai 36). As a result, Fragrant Lotus is treated merely as an item to be bought in this marriage. She is not marrying the son of Tong Ren-An out of love but because her incredibly small feet had caught his attention. She does not even get a say in this decision since she comes from a poor family. Therefore, the culture expects women to get married but first they must have small feet. Essentially, if one has small feet, they will find a good family, however this enforces the idea that both small feet and marriage are a must in the culture. Moreover, as shown in a sociological research, “The most common reason is that foot binding is
To start off, the culture manipulates people into thinking that relationships should only be meant for status, and not love. Consequently, it enforces a relationship expectation that makes people think only about wealth and social standings. Therefore, people in this culture do not date or marry out of love as a healthy relationship should be based on. For instance, Fragrant Lotus agreed to marry the eldest Tong son before she had even met him, only because he came from an esteemed family. Consequently, “[...] when Tong Ren-An [wants] to buy a daughter-in-law, he could buy a good one” (Jicai 36). As a result, Fragrant Lotus is treated merely as an item to be bought in this marriage. She is not marrying the son of Tong Ren-An out of love but because her incredibly small feet had caught his attention. She does not even get a say in this decision since she comes from a poor family. Therefore, the culture expects women to get married but first they must have small feet. Essentially, if one has small feet, they will find a good family, however this enforces the idea that both small feet and marriage are a must in the culture. Moreover, as shown in a sociological research, “The most common reason is that foot binding is