Conclusions CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS

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CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter presents conclusions, implications, and suggestions of this study. The conclusions wrap up the answer of the formulated problem. Then, the implications are presented to provide some reflection on the results of the study which may be relevant to education. Finally, the writer gives some suggestions related to the study.

A. Conclusions

Based on the analysis in Chapter IV, there are some conclusions that can be drawn. The first concerns the depiction of Chinese women’s footbinding and secret writing in the novel. The second is about how male domination relates to the practice of footbinding and women’s secret writing. The first result shows that footbinding and nu shu are clearly depicted in the novel. Footbinding is not merely performed out of a sense of obligation but also because it determines a woman’s social status. Footbinding is about the obligation as it is dealing with the state of being marriageable. Being unmarriageable for Chinese women is considered the worst thing. They embarrass themselves as well as their family. This thought is influenced by Confucian ideals since they lived in a Confucian society. Moreover, footbinding is to determine their chance of a brighter future. By having a pair of perfect feet, the main character, Lily, improved her life by marrying a scholar in a famous village, PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 58 Tongkou. Her laotong, Snow Flower however, had a different fate. Because she did not have a pair of feet as perfect as Lily has, she married a butcher—an occupation which was considered cruel. Furthermore, footbinding has several social functions for women to think and actbehave well in a society and as the motivation for women to fulfil themselves as the members of a society. Meanwhile, women’s secret writing is described in the novel as the communication tool both with laotong and the family. Lily and Snow Flower send each other a silk fan that contains nu shu. Then, Lily used nu shu to communicate with natal family when she had already been away to her husband’s family. Besides, nu shu gives Chinese women an identity as educated women. The development of the footbinding and secret writing is described throughout the novel. As a laotong, Lily and Snow Flower were together to endure the agony of footbinding. Later, they also bound their daughters’ feet in perpetuation of the Chinese tradition. Besides, they also maintained communication by sending a fan to each other. Nu shu was the first thing that made them one and the last thing that made them separated. The footbinding and women’s secret writing are described as the reflection to women’s beauty, pride, knowledge, and also identity. Chinese women believed they would look beautiful and more attractive if they could have a pair of tiny feet even though they had to endure the unimaginable pain of the binding process. They looked more exotic when they are walking by swaying like the dancers. The perfectness of her feet makes Lily and her family proud. She could improve her status and her family status. Literacy in nu shu became a source of pride. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 59 Although women were not educated like Chinese men, at least they were considered educated among other women who were illiterate in nu shu. Moreover, Lily and Snow Flower successfully passed their footbinding process and were very fluent in nu shu. It shows that they are knowledgeable about it. Then, by footbinding, women’s identity is associated with and enhanced by the improvement of status Lily and her family achieved by marrying into a family which had a good reputation throughout the village. Meanwhile, persevering in nu shu gave a prestige as an educated woman. Both are very valuable for Chinese women since these are a mark of gentility and upper-class status. The second results shows male domination closely relates to the practice of footbinding and the spread of secret writing. There are some ideas which relate to it: the concept of beauty, the concept of pleasure, and the concept of manhood. The male concept of women’s beauty is that a woman should have a pair of tiny feet without considering either the face or body shape. It leads Chinese women to bind their feet. If Chinese women were not considered beautiful, they would not be able to marry. Thus, they would be considered unworthy women and embarrass their father. Besides, the Chinese male concept of pleasure was focused on the tiny feet. Men were sexually impressed and stimulated by seeing and holding the tiny feet. Therefore, Chinese women provided the pleasure for their husbands. If a woman was not sexually incapable no more to satisfy her husband, she ought to accept the existence of concubines in the household. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 60 Meanwhile, the concept of manhood that shows the power of men also has a relation to the existence of nu shu. To be a Chinese man at that time means to have more power than women. As a result of male superiority which was supported by Confucian ideals, Chinese women were not allowed to be outside the home. Chinese women were living in the inner realm while men were in the outer realm since the system allows them to work, learn, and be socialized. To escape from this state, Chinese women used nu shu to share their stories, thoughts, poems, and songs. This secret writing was passed on the Chinese descendants as well.

B. Implications