Hidden voices
by Xinran
In the following I reviewed briefly each story in the book, so everyone can have an idea if the book is interesting for him/her.
1. My Journey Towards the Stories of Chinese Women :
"What was a woman's life worth in China?" I can say this was the main purpose behind writing this book.
2. The Girl Who Kept a Fly as a Pet:
" I used to dream that my pain could be cleared away somehow, but can I clear away my life? Can I clear away my past and my future?"
That was really a very touching story. A little girl who suffered from her father sexual abuse and her mother giving up on her by accepting the abuse, decided to commit suicide while she was already sick in the hospital using her favorite animal friends:'flies'. It wasn't an easy story to read when I knew the facts are real. How can any father do this to his daughter? How can any mother scarify his own girl to keep a family? What kind of family did she really kept? What did they feel after losing their daughter? How happy was she when she was dying?
This story wasn't so touchy for me. Basically, it was about men' view to women in women' opinion, and how girls of the new generation are dealing with men. I didn't agree about it but I can't make a final judgment as long as I don't know much about the Chinese culture.
4. The Scavenger Woman:
A story of a woman everybody thought she is poor and a scavenger. But in fact, and after many attempts of the journalist, she talked to her and told her half story. Let me put it as the author said: "her words only opened the box that she enclosed herself in, but did not lift the veil from her face".
I summarize her story as follows: she is a teacher of foreign languages, she was married to a well educated man, and had 2 kids. Her husband died suddenly by a heart attack, then her son also died a year later of scarlet fever. She was broken for so long, then she decided to live for her other son, and she did everything she can to give him the life she wished for him. He grew up, became a politician as his father, and he was married as well. His mother decided to keep close to him, so she became a scavenger, and kept watching him everyday, while he thought she was in the countryside teaching as she told him.
I don't really understand why she did so, because it seems for me that he doesn't care that much about her, so in my opinion, he doesn't deserve this sacrifice. Moreover, why does any mother do this? He is old enough, married, successful, that's it. Let it go then, or just live with him.
In the other side, I don't see the point why Xinran wrote about this at the first place! All Chinese women do this? They live a miserable life just to stay close to watch there grown up kids? Strange story and still can't find its frame within the book.
5. The Mothers Who Endured an Earthquake:
Oh my God! this was a hard story for me, caused by the terrifying earthquake at Tangshan city, in July 1972, where 300,000 souls were lost. First of all, I was surprised that the Chinese government didn't know about it until it was too late, when many people could be saved. Horrible!
Anyway, some of these mothers who lost their children in that earthquake, they founded an orphanage for kids, which is very courageous of them. It is a nice lesson, that no matter how bad your loss is, you can still have a lot to give.
She told 3 different heartbreaking stories of mothers. I won't spoil it, so just read them yourself.
But I would like to share some cute sentences:
" I made it, but I wasn't really brave. I am one of those who are strong in front of other people, a so-called tower of strength among women, but when I am alone I cry all night... Sometimes, I can't breathe for missing them. Some people say that time heals everything, but it hasn't healed me".
6. What Chinese Women Believe:
Well, this one wasn't so heartbreaking but so confusing and complicated. Beliefs and religions are not something simple to discuss in few lines. So, I prefer to keep it up to you to read and give your own point of view.
7. The Woman Who Loved Women:
Ok, here we come to something more complicated than talking about beliefs. I don't think homosexuality is a normal state. I believe that in nature, there is male and female. Beyond that is unstable. I prefer not to go deeply with this too because I am just trying to review the book not the topic itself.
These are few words I loved in this section:
"She had known that love was more pure and holy than sex since she had been a child."
" If you can't make someone happy, don't give them hope."
8. The Woman Whose Marriage Was Arranged by the Revolution:
A story of a woman who was forced by the revolution party to marry a man she never felt happy with later. Even her kids didn't care about her existence. It seems like many women in the world suffer silently and they don't believe time will heal their pain because it didn't for so long...
9. My Mother:
In this part, she told he mother and father story.... nothing special attracted me that I would like to mention here. Read it and share your own opinion.
10. The Woman Who Waited Forty-five Years:
Oh my God! This one was very touching for me. A woman and a man were deeply in love. But the civil war separated them. After few years they lost contact completely (I let you discover details ) ... of course, as a faithful lover, she waited 40 years to meet him by a coincidence with his family. I can imagine how painful it is to wait someone who can never feel you and to believe in something that can never be true.
11.The Guomindang General’s Daughter:
Another story about the war worst consequences. ...
12. The Childhood I Cannot Leave Behind Me:
This is her own story when she was a kid. I felt sorry for her and proud that after all the suffering she became someone with a respected voice.
What attracted me the most was his teacher's library he was hiding, which made her what she is now. To use her words: "the teacher told me that this library was a secret that he was planning as a gift for future generations. No matter how revolutionary people were, he said, they could not live without books. Without books, we could not understand the world; without books, we could not develop; without books, nature could not serve humanity".
This reminded me of my painful childhood, and how my father used to tell me very similar words that made me read and love reading ... I will always be thankful to my dear father ...
13. The Woman Whose Father Does Not Know Her:
This is another touching story about war consequences and how women were used in China very badly, and families were destroyed completely. This is still happening, unfortunately, even now, everywhere.
She said: "the Chinese say; 'there is a book in every family that is best not read out loud.' There are many Chinese families who have not confronted what happened to them during the Cultural Revolution. The chapters of that book have been stuck with tears and cannot be opened. Future generations or outsiders will only see a blurred title. When people witness the joy of families or friends reunited after years of separation, few dare to ask themselves how those people coped with their desires and pain during those years."
Again, this woman doesn't believe time can heal her wounds, because it never did after many long years.
14. A Fashionable Woman:
Here we come to another painful story for me to read or even review. I could feel that woman's pain in each word I've read. And I will always remember her story because I lived already a part of it.
Xinran says: "Behind every successful woman, there is a man who causes her pain", and I agree with her completely.
That woman loved a man and married him to find out that he was a womanizer. He caused her much pain and humiliation before getting the divorce. Another man came to her life and made her happy again. She trusted him, and loved him deeply. The day of their marriage, he left without leaving even a note. She tried to kill herself. She was so broken inside ... Later, she focused on work and she became very rich and famous. ... yes, he came back to her, and yes, she stayed with him again. Why? How can she be this weak? I used to wonder the same way but not anymore. Who tried true love cannot judge anyone blindly in love.
Even though she knew he came back just for money and fame, she never asked him why he left at the first place, And she explained her acts as follows :
" ...because of that first declaration he made me, and the happiness I have had with him; those are my happiest memories "..." Emotionally, men can never be like women, they will never be able to understand us. Men are like mountain, they only know the ground beneath their feet, and the trees on their slopes. But women are like water."..." because water is the source of life, and it adapts itself to its environment. Like women, water also gives of itself wherever it goes to nurture life".
I will never judge a woman in love again in my life. And again, this woman doesn't think time will heal her soul or broken heart.
15. The women of Shouting Hill:
The last story is about a very poor Chinese village, far from the real world we live in. As she says, it belongs to another history that humanity left behind a long time ago. She described many details of the village and how people live there. Especially, how much sorrow women bear... but they are happy. Yes, ignorance can be a source of happiness sometimes.
Merry
No comments:
Post a Comment