How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Being twenty-nine, she was by Chinese standards well into old-maid territory, and even though her busybody relatives were perpetually trying to set her up, she had spent the better part of her twenties focused on getting through grad school, finishing her dissertation, and jump-starting her career in academia. (1.1.30)
Right out the gates, we know that the expectation on Chinese women in this novel is mawwiage. It is, after all, what bwings us together today.
Quote #2
"I've been gone almost a month! I'm afraid my son will forget who I am if I stay one more day," Astrid answered as she was ushered along into the grand foyer […] (1.5.7)
Astrid provides an interesting insight into the role of a mother. She's worried her son will have forgotten her…after a month out of town. After a month, Astrid, what's one extra day?
Quote #3
"A girl like Astrid only exists to feed obsession," Laurent remarked. (1.5.21)
What a chauvinistic interpretation of a woman's existence! Unfortunately, this isn't an unusual treatment for Astrid or other women in the book.
Quote #4
A "full-time mother," Cecilia actually spent more time on the international equestrian circuit than raising their son, Jake. (1.6.8)
We love that "full-time mother" is put in quotes. We can just see the narrator giving air quotes with a wry smile. Cecilia is the extreme version of Astrid's one-month-away parenting style.
Quote #5
The Asian male would begin a not so covert interrogation focused on the Asian female's social, academic, and talent aptitudes in order to determine whether she was possible "wife and bearer of my sons" material. (1.11.60).
Where do all these expectations on women come from? Looks like it starts right there with the men.
Quote #6
"It's impossible for you to marry Simon. We wouldn't worry if you had your own money, but you know your situation. The clock is ticking on your pretty face. It's time to cut your losses and let Lauren introduce you to one of those eligible Beijing billionaires before it's too late." (2.11.6)
Isabel dissolves into tears after Francesca's assessment. Who wouldn't? She was just told she had no value (and she's actually depreciating as the clock ticks!) other than who she marries.
Quote #7
"No matter how advanced we've become, there's still tremendous pressure for girls to get married. Here, it doesn't matter how successful a woman is professionally. She isn't considered complete until she is married and has children." (2.13.30)
Sophie Khoo, the mouthpiece of plain and simple truths, explains the obsession with marriage. Know what we think is the best? Sophie doesn't seem to be married but has a wickedly successful career. You go, Sophie Khoo Khoo.
Quote #8
"Nicky is going to propose to this girl any minute now. What was the whole point of my sending you to New York? You had one simple mission to accomplish, and you failed miserably." (3.3.53)
Jacqueline Ling's scathing indictment of her daughter's time in New York City reinforces what Isabel was told: a woman has no value until she's mated with the most prestigious of men.
Quote #9
"Aiyah, Nadine, my whole life has been spent protecting him within my husband's family, and positioning him to be the favorite grandson. I know my mother-in-law never truly approved of me, so I even got out of the way […] I always let her come first in Nicky's life, and because of this he's been closer to her. But I accepted that. It was for his own good." (3.19.27)
While Eleanor otherwise has few redeeming qualities, in this exchange we suddenly see that Eleanor didn't want her son to be punished for her mother-in-law not liking her. Wow, Eleanor. That's some major mom stuff.
Quote #10
"You were a girl, and my in-laws were extremely shocked. […] I had failed them. I had failed to do my duty." (3.20.19)
Kerry Chu puts Singaporean society in different light when she talks of the role she served in Mainland China: a daughter-in-law who failed to produce a son. But like the other women, her entire worth was related to it.