51 There are some concepts which cause the practice of footbinding and also
the spread of secret writing. They are the concepts of beauty, the concept of pleasure, and also the concept of manhood. The following paragraphs will
elaborate how the Chinese men’s ideology influenced the women to bind their feet and practiced the secret writing.
1. The Male Concepts of Beauty
Chinese women continued their ancient tradition of footbinding for a thousand years. As mentioned earlier, footbinding was accepted by thousands of
daughters for the sake of tradition and marriage prospects. Every family with sons wants daughters-in-law with bound feet. They are
not going to marry a big-footed girl. Big-footed girls are considered inappropriate to have daughters’ rank in a household. For them, the rank should be that of
servants. This demand of having bound feet can be seen clearly in the novel, Lily’s mother’s feet have been badly bound by her mother, but she is still
marriageable. Then, even though Aunt does not have perfect bound feet, still she is able to get married.
Whoever has a pair of perfect golden lilies will be chosen by the good or even best family. This is shown when the Lu family sees Lily’s feet. Since the Lu
family is the best family in Tongkou, they are excited about Lily’s perfect bound feet. It is what they expected for their son’s wife. The following quotation
illustrates this, when Snow Flower told Lily that it seems that they are very happy engaging her to be their daughter-in-law:
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52 “And the way the whole Lu party examined your feet Oh, Lily, I’m sure
everyone in my village is happy to know that one day you will be the new Lady Lu. Now try to sleep. You have many long days ahead of you.” See,
p. 140 Chinese women well understand why they bind their feet. Their small feet
show that they are helpless. In China, helpless women are considered as a good thing. Their helplessness means that they cannot help their husbands to earn
money and to feed all the members of the household. Indeed, if the man can afford a helpless wife, he must be a successful man Jackson, 1997, p.15. It is because
the smaller foot a woman has; the more difficult it is for her to move freely and do everything easily. Here, the gender role is strictly determined. The men expect the
appropriate attitude from their women, which involves being helpless. Furthermore, her small feet will be evidence to the mother-in-law that she can
obey, and be disciplined, because she was able to endure the unimaginable pain caused by the footbinding process as can be seen in the following quotation.
My small feet would show the world my obedience to my natal family, particularly to my mother, which would also make a good impression on
my future mother-in-law. See, p. 43 The quotation shows that the impression Lily makes through her bound
feet is to determine how marriageable she is. In addition, the shoes that she wears are also to symbolize how good her ability in embroidering and house learning is.
The other desired result of footbinding is to keep Chinese women at home. What they have to do is to obey, obey, and obey. This behavior is in accordance
with Confucian ideals that state: when you are a girl, obey your father; when you are a wife, obey your husband; and when you are a widow, obey your son.
Certainly, the women have no rights to be themselves and no freedom to do
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53 what they like. Since her feet are bound, Lily is not allowed to go outside the
home to work. All she does is only in the household, especially in the upstairs chamber where she many do all the women’s works. This is fits in accordance
with the Confucian ideals about confinement and control, as illustrated by the following quotation.
“We must stay in our upstairs rooms, be chaste, be modest, and perfect the womanly arts. To be filial, we must leave home. This is our fate. When we
go to our husbands’ homes, new worlds unfold—sometimes better, sometimes worse.” See, p. 169
The male concept of women’s beauty leads Chinese women to bind their
feet. A woman’s beauty is in her feet. Being marriageable relates to the fact that footbinding has already begun the part of Chinese society system. Not
participating very well in the system causes a punishment or consequence. Therefore, there is such a consequence that a woman would have if she does not
bind her feet. If they are not considered as beautiful, they will not be able to marry. No one would take her as an in-law. Thus, they would be considered as
unworthy women and embarrass their father as well.
2. The Concept of Pleasure
