Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Week 1, Post A

“The word pain does not begin to describe the feeling. My toes were locked under my feet so that my body weight fell entirely on the top of those appendages. I tried to balance backwards on my heels. When Mama saw this, she hit me” (28). This quote is Lily’s thoughts just after her mother has bound her feet for the first time. Middle and upper class women in China routinely have their feet bound as young girls and the smaller their feet are bound the more attractive and expensive they are for men. The lower class women do not have their feet bound because they need to be mobile and work in fields, while the middle and upper class women use foot binding as a sign of wealth and high social status. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain Lily endured as her feet were compressed, smaller and smaller! When she described the day that each of her toes broke as she walked, I was absolutely horrified and felt terrible for her too. I am really glad that foot binding isn’t necessary in our culture, because I love being able to walk around and play sports.