Essay Questions

How does Sui Sun validate Postmodernism? (“Mrs. Spring Fragrance”)

Sui Sun sponsors intertextuality: “Now, Little Sister,” comforted Mrs. Spring Fragrance, “you really must not grieve like that. Is there not a beautiful American poem written by a noble American named Tennyson, which says: “Tis better to have loved and lost, Than never to have loved at all?” Quoting American poetry is a formula for intertextuality, which apprises the reader about Mrs. Spring Fragrance’s foundational ideology and insight.

Propose a psychoanalytic evaluation of “Its Wavering Image”.

Pan is psychologically aggrieved as a result of Mark’s treachery. Sui Sun writes, “So till evening fell. Then she stumbled up the dark stairs which led to the high room open to the stars and tried to think it out. Someone had hurt her. Who was it? She raised her eyes. There shone: "Its Wavering Image." It helped her to lucidity. He had done it. Was it unconsciously dealt that cruel blow? Ah, well did he know that the sword which pierced her through others would carry with it to her own heart, the pain of all those others. None knew better than he that she, whom he had called "a white girl, a white woman," would rather that her own naked body and soul had been exposed, than that things, sacred and secret to those who loved her, should be cruelly unveiled and ruthlessly spread before the ridiculing and uncomprehending foreigner.”

Sui Sun overlooks in-depth minutiae concerning Mark’s article. However, a reader would construe that the article is a definitive betrayal based on Pan’s tussle to deal with the psychological disturbance following her apprehension that mark has exploited her to discover contentious information regarding the Chinese which he would write in his article. Pan’s conscious is shamefaced because she contemplates that she sold out her race to a foreign who represented them unpleasantly. Pan’s lucidity empowers her to comprehend that Mark egotistically seduced her with the objective of betraying her confidence. Mark’s conditioning cannot alleviate Pan’s unconscious feelings of betrayal because she recognizes herself as a Chinese.