What is the theme of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress?
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie is a literarily rich novel that explores the themes of love, coming of age, reading, education, censorship and beauty through the story of three teenagers, two boys and one girl, affected by China’s Cultural Revolution.
What is the plot of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress?
In 1971, in the China of Mao Tse Tung, the two university students Luo (Kun Chen) and Ma (Ye Liu) are sent to a mountain mining village with very ignorant peasants and also a Maoist rehabilitation camp, to be reeducated. Both fall in love for the illiterate granddaughter of the local tailor, called “little seamstress”.
What does Luo want to do to make the seamstress more refined?
After the boys return Ursule Mirouët, Luo says he could have read it to the Little Seamstress. It would have made her more refined and cultured. This statement shows that the boys are aware of the power of story, even fiction, to make people less ignorant. This is why Mao wants to take away books from the people.
How does the Little Seamstress change?
In the months after her abortion, the Little Seamstress uses what she learns from Balzac’s novels to transform herself into a stylish city girl: she cuts her hair into a bob, adopts a Chengdu accent, and makes herself a bra.
What does the violin symbolize in Balzac?
The narrator’s violin is a symbol of the power of storytelling and also of the way out of reeducation. Therefore, the violin represents his hope.
Why did Dai Sijie write Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress?
Brief Biography of Dai Sijie Dai chose to participate, however, and he cites the allure of rigorous training as his reasoning. His experience being sent to live among peasants during the Cultural Revolution was the inspiration for Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, which is semi-autobiographical.
What kind of book is Ursule Mirouet by Balzac?
He lets the narrator and Luo carry the rice, and when they return, he gives them a slender Balzac novel. The novel is Balzac’s Ursule Mirouët, a love story that features many sleepwalking and dream sequences. Luo reads it in one night, and then gives it to the narrator.
When does Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress take place?
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Summary. In 1971, during China’s Cultural Revolution, two teenagers, an unnamed narrator and his friend Luo, are sent from their hometown of Chengdu to a mountain village to be ‘re-educated.’.
What makes Luo popular in the Little Chinese Seamstress?
Luo has a talent for story-telling that makes him popular among the villagers. The headman sends Luo and the narrator to a nearby town called Yong Jing so they can watch movies there and then retell the movie’s plot to the villagers. Luo is particularly theatrical, and everyone loves the “oral cinema show” (19).
Why is the story of the Little Chinese Seamstress bad?
While Luo is gone, the narrator falls in love with the Seamstress, and is beaten one day by her suitors. Soon afterwards, the Seamstress reveals to the narrator that she is pregnant. This is a bad situation because she is not allowed to marry Luo until they are both 25, and abortion is also illegal.