Filial Duty and Cultural Anatopism Across Generations in 'Bound Feet and Western Dress' Anonymous College

Bound Feet and Western Dress is a dual memoir, telling the story of Pang-mei Natasha Chang and Chang Yu-i, a great-niece and great-aunt who share their stories of growing up in the Chang family, each taking turns narrating the story in the first person. The Bedford Glossary of Literary Terms defines this as a point of view “...in which an ‘I’ or ‘we’ serves as the narrator...” (Murfin). Pang-Mei and Yu-i’s dual narratorship of the memoir Bound Feet And Western Dress is used to show how each woman’s struggle to reconcile Chinese traditions with her own Western ambitions is similar, as displayed by their sense of filial duty and the feeling of cultural anatopism.

Filial duty is a major theme throughout the book, both in Yu-i’s life and Pang-Mei’s. According to Yu-i, “In the Chinese way, your parents have your best interest in mind” (Chang 68). This philosophy affects every aspect of a young Chinese person’s life.Yu-i’s sense of filial duty leads her to marry Hsu Chih-mo, the man who ultimately leaves her for another woman and asks her to abort their child. When Yu-i is asked what she thinks of marrying Hsu Chih-mo, she replies that it is not important. Of this statement, Yu-i explains, “... according to Chinese tradition: I would...