Project 2: Intransigent

Intransigent

“The most precious jewels you’ll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children (Anonymous).” One of the short stories in Sun Sui Far’s anthology, Mrs. Spring Fragrance, tells the tragic story of Lae Choo. Lae Choo is a Chinese immigrant and a wife of a Chinese merchant named Hom Hing. In the story, Hom Hing went back to China to fetch his wife and son. When they are about to board the ship going to California, the custom officers stopped them saying that there are no records indicating that Hom Hing and Lae Choo have a child. Despite the couple's resistance, the custom officers take their Little One and place him in a detention camp in Washington. They promised that the child will be returned to them by morning. Several months pass by and their Little One is not yet returned to them, and the lawyer they acquire is only after their fortune. When their child is returned to them, Lae Choo is filled with delight, but the child dismisses his mother. As the story unravels, we learn that our society has long assumed that women are weak because they act based on their feelings. Yet the story also fortifies women for women endure several hardships that are not tantamount to any man's. Women sift through their various conflicting feelings and create rational decisions and ideas from them. Thus, women are more resilient than men.

Lae Choo is fragile and weak, but these are her attributes that allows her to stay strong and hopeful. We read in the story that Sun Sui Far writes Lae Choo as a typical mother who is seemingly inseparable from her child. However, her son is taken away from her and all the power she once had is drained from her entire being. Sun Sui Far thinks that Lae Choo is hysterical and also hopeful for she writes, “‘Why so long, oh! why so long?’ Then apostrophizing herself: ‘Lae Choo, be happy. The Little One is coming! The Little One is coming!’ Several times she burst into tears and several times she laughed aloud (Hicks et. al., 325).” From this instance, we can observe that with a little ounce of power she has left, she tries to fight the grief of losing her son. Her mixed emotions are messing with her head, yet she sits still, contemplating and convincing herself to stay strong for her son. Women put their feelings under a microscope to examine their discombobulated emotions and from there, women act accordingly, not just what others would think about her, but what she thinks of herself.

Although Lae Choo seems to be a submissive and inferior type of person, I believe that her inferiority is a key she holds to open the door of hopefulness. In a foreign land where the laws she is accustomed to is massively different, Lae Choo and her husband, Hom Hing, have no other option but to follow the rules. Hom Hing says, “there is no need to grief so; he will sonn gladden you again. There cannot be any law that would keep a child from its mother! (Hicks, et. al., 324).” This statement paves way to Lae Choo’s hopefulness for after he states this, Lae Choo “arose and stepped about the apartment, setting things to right (Hicks, et. al., 324).” We can see that the couple is being submissive, especially since they are immigrants. But since Hom Hing is a merchant, he seems to be accustomed with what the law dictates and provides. His instinct kicks in and to some extent, he treats the detention of his child as a bargain. Lae Choo, however, is being obedient. She succumbs to the law of the American people in fear that she or worst, her son, will be punished for her own misconduct. In a way, her inferiority is a stepping stone for her to attain self-actualization; this circumstance of being away from her son has made her resilient and relentless.

            Lae Choo is resilient and relentless. Experiencing this separation, Hom Hing thinks that Lae Choo is too dependent, distant, and lamentable. He says, “She seems less every day. Her food she takes only when I bid her, and her tears fall continually. She finds no pleasure in dress or flowers and cares not to see her friends. Her eyes stare all night. I think before another moon she will pass into the land of spirits ((Hicks, et. al., 326).” James Clancy, the white lawyer they acquired to somehow help them retrieve their son, thinks of Lae Choo as someone who is insane for chasing after her son who will never remember her anymore. Yet Clancy takes them for granted when he proposes that he will retrieve their son from Washington as long as they fund his journey. His greed leads him to underestimate Lae Choo, but their thoughts about her changes when she surrenders all her jewelries for Clancy to take and sell as long as he delivers the papers that will release their son from the custody of the Americans (Hicks, et. al., 328). We realize that Lae Choo’s desperation is her ticket to claiming her son back to her arms.

            Lae Choo is an optimist. She looks forward to having her son back into her arms and tries to convert her tears into smiles. She thinks of herself as someone who is resilient having to endure this unspeakable damage of losing her own child. She may have not been the best mother, but still she tries her best to bring her child back to her embrace. Sun Sui Far writes, “She fell on her knees and stretched her hungry arms toward her son (Hicks, et. al., 329).” Although she has the suspicion that her son will no longer remember her, she still believes that being with her is her son’s best interest. She may have lost him for five months, but slowly, she will rebuild the lost time and close the huge gap between them.