Lisa See's novel Shanghai Girls follows the story of two sisters and their struggles as sisters and as Chinese immigrants to the United States. The sisters, Pearl and May, have a close and complicated relationship. The story's central theme revolves around the nature of the relationship between sisters. The...
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Lisa See's novel Shanghai Girls follows the story of two sisters and their struggles as sisters and as Chinese immigrants to the United States. The sisters, Pearl and May, have a close and complicated relationship. The story's central theme revolves around the nature of the relationship between sisters. The sisters have very different relationships with their parents: May, though younger and less accomplished, is favored by her parents for her beauty and charm, while Pearl always feels slighted and lesser. Each sister's relationship with their parents is a reflection of the complicated nature of their relationship with each other.
In the first part of the book, "Fate," Pearl reflects on her mother and father's opinion of her and May. Pearl, unlike her sister, actually listens and cares about what her parents think and say. By her own assessment, Pearl is less important to her parents than May. Early in the novel, Pearl reflects on her mother's opinion of her and shares what her mother believes about her.
"There's nowhere you can't go with your big flapping feet," Mama frequently tells me. However, a Dragon, the most powerful of the signs, also has its drawbacks. "A Dragon is loyal, demanding, responsible, a tamer of the fates," Mama has told me, "but you, my Pearl, will always be hampered by the vapors that come from your mouth."
We have a square teakwood table, and we always sit in the exact same places: my father next to May on one side of the table, with my mother directly across from her so that my parents can share my sister equally. Every meal — day after day, year after year — is a reminder that I'm not the favorite and never will be.