Sizing up

In earlier times, Chinese marriages were more than just a marriage between two people. It was the union between two families. Families sought out matchmakers to be introduced to an in-law family that best matched in status and wealth. But, the process of choosing a daughter-in-law was much like a shopping trip. She had to be looked at all angles. Being a woman at this time, you would have had to deal with serving and obeying your parents as a child, and then later live up to your in-law’s expectation as a wife and daughter-in-law. The Chinese girls must have felt like slaves being traded between families. Their situation was not as cruel as what the slaves in the United States had to face. But, both group of people had experienced how it felt like to be chosen like mindless pieces of meat.


" Your daughter presents us with a special circumstance, " he said " I saw something in her yesterday, and Madame Wang, who brings additional expertise, agrees. Your daughter's face is long and slender like a rice seed. Her full earlobes tell us she is generous in spirit . But most important are her feet. " (20)



In this passage, Lily undergo the scrutiny of the matchmaker, who points out her better features, that may enhance her worth. It may seem like it’s a positive thing to have the matchmaker discovers her good features, but having the matchmaker observe her at all is not right. This person is controlling what happens to her for the rest of her life. Her fate is decided by who the matchmaker decides to introduce her to, which she determines by her physical outer appearance.