Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Literary Elements

Historical Fiction

19th Century China

Lily is a first person narrator; she is an old woman who tells us her life story.

Relaxed tone. Even when something disturbing happens, Lily does not have a severe reaction, as she was raised to be an obedient woman. Her descriptions of what she has to endure solely because she is a female also set the mood which is not too joyful.

Protagonist - Lily, Antagonist- not a person, but perhaps the Chinease culture back then of women being less worth than men

Little girls being forced to have their feet completely mutilated, just so that they will be able to marry someone of a higher social status than their families.

After the rebellion when Lily and Snow Flower exchange letters and it is a breaking point in Lily's life

Third Sister strongly tries to resist footbinding; shortly after she has her feet bound, she does not feel very good and becomes ill. Her resisting and her getting ill predict her fate, because soon, she dies of septic shock.

Lily's family does not react appropriately when Third Sister dies, they believe this was her destiny and for the most part, they just accept it.

Allusion to Chinese history - The Taiping Rebellion

Graphic descriptions of feet being broken and bound. Later also the portrayal of Lily's suffering when she had to walk with bound feet.

Tiny feet are considered most attractive and are of vital importance; however, 10 percent of the girls dies because of footbinding.

Lily as a mother doing the exact same thing to her daughters and treating them the same way like her mother treated her.

N/A

"my heart cries to lose you"