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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Crazy Rich Asians, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Wealth and Absurdity
Marriage and Money
Family vs. Individuality
Chinese vs. Western Culture
Summary
Analysis
Astrid gets home early enough to give three-year-old Cassian his bath and put him to bed before hiding all her couture clothes in the spare bedroom before Michael gets home. Michael seems so stressed these days, flying to China often to supervise his tech startup, Cloud Nine Solutions. Everything has to be perfect tonight, so she consults with the cook and chills some new Sauterne wines, his favorite. These activities seem normal to most, but Astrid’s friends and family would be aghast. As far as they’re concerned, she shouldn’t be unpacking her own clothes or talking with her cook—she should be getting dressed to go out. But then again, Astrid has always defied expectations. Most girls in Astrid’s circle follow the same trajectory, from attending the same few elite girls’ schools in Singapore and college in England, to marrying in their mid-20s and having children.
A certain level of wealth, this passage shows, does mean that people live differently; the narrator implies that Astrid’s wealth should buy her the right to never have to think about food or menial tasks like unpacking her own shopping. This then begs the question of why Astrid is doing these things herself. The answer seems connected to Michael, as it appears that he’s not comfortable with extreme wealth—a discomfort hinted at by the fact that Astrid hides her purchases before he gets home. That there’s an expected life path for girls like Astrid suggests there’s a similar path for boys; that is, the culture in general prioritizes following expectations rather than following one’s dreams or passions.
Themes
Astrid doesn’t break rules, per se; she just makes her own. The rumors started when she was little and persisted into her teen years, as her frequent trips abroad resulted in a “precociously sophisticated sense of style.” She failed her A levels and was sent to England for school, where she “lived in sin” with boyfriend Charlie Wu (son of a tech billionaire). She accepted his proposal when she was 22 but threw the “vulgar” 39-carat diamond solitaire ring into the snow. He didn’t look for it. Astrid’s parents couldn’t fathom such “shameless new money” marrying into the family, but the engagement ended nine days before the wedding when Astrid threw a Frosty in Charlie’s face on the street. “Social Singapore” followed all of this news ravenously.
It’s supposed to read as absolutely absurd that Astrid’s parents couldn’t get on board with a billionaire like Charlie, who could afford to just abandon a 39-carat diamond, marrying in. This suggests that Rachel—who is maybe on the upper end of the middle class but is in no way wealthy—doesn’t stand a chance. But the fact that someone as wealthy as Astrid failed important tests and resorted to physical violence in her relationship does add some credence to Nick’s earlier assertion that his family is like any other. What sets them apart, though, is that when a member “messes up,” “Social Singapore” is watching—and judging.
Themes
Astrid flew to Paris to cool off, but Singapore still talked: Astrid was attending fashion shows and was supposedly seeing married men. But all of these rumors were disproven when Astrid announced her engagement to Michael Teo, a middle-class nobody. Her parents decided it “could have been much worse,” as Michael was handsome, a National Merit Scholar, an Armed Forces Elite Commando, and a trained computer systems specialist. They had a “very small,” “private” 300-guest wedding, Michael started his own tech business, and they had Cassian.
On paper, Michael sounds like an enviable partner. But again, Astrid’s family is part of such an elite circle that even someone with Michael’s credentials is nowhere close to good enough. It’s then laughable that a 300-guest wedding was “very small” and “private,” which highlights that norms and expectations for Astrid’s family are wildly different from other people’s. All of this continues to suggest that Rachel is in for a shock and shouldn’t expect a warm welcome.
Themes
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Back in the present, Michael gets home late. After dinner and two bottles of wine, he asks if Astrid bought more “thousand-dollar dresses.” Astrid denies it, but she isn’t technically lying—the dresses cost around $200,000 apiece. He drops the subject, they have sex, and Michael gets in the shower. When Astrid hears her phone ding, she picks it up and finds a perplexing text: “MISS U NSIDE ME.” She thinks it’s a prank until she realizes it’s Michael’s phone.
There were clearly things wrong with Michael and Astrid’s marriage before Astrid discovers evidence that Michael is cheating—she feels she must hide her purchases from him. But while Astrid seems to have been able to ignore their problems before, this text is impossible for her to explain away.
Themes
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