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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
Tonight, Harry Leong is throwing a party for Colin, his nephew—and Annabel Lee is secretly more excited about this party than any of the other wedding festivities. This is because when she and her husband moved with little Araminta to Singapore from China more than 20 years ago, Annabel quickly realized that there were richer, snobbier people than the other Mainland Chinese like herself—and she desperately wanted to see how they lived. At this party, she’ll finally get her wish. At the Leongs’ house, Annabel takes note of the various details and enjoys rubbing shoulders with the likes of Felicity, Astrid, and Eleanor. Annabel is content. She’s certain now she made the right choices for Araminta—Araminta looks like she belongs among these “people of breeding and taste.” Nobody here is trying to network or one-up people, and nobody’s wearing Louis Vuitton.
Harry Leong is Astrid’s dad, and Dr. Gu called him a “kingmaker” in government. This reminds readers again how wealthy and powerful Nick’s family is. Annabel, like Wye Mun, makes reference to how private this uppermost class is—but she, unlike Wye Mun, has at least risen high enough to know they exist and attend a party at a member’s home. However, it’s unlikely Araminta actually belongs, since it doesn’t seem like anyone can really break into the rarified circle, so this only highlights that Annabel doesn’t really understand the ultrawealthy. Colin is also not part of that circle (he’s a marriage or two removed), so it’s not like Araminta is marrying up in a significant way.
Themes
Astrid, meanwhile, is hiding outside her parents’ house waiting for Michael. She grabs him when he arrives so it looks like they came together. He quietly asks if Cassian is here—and when Astrid says he isn’t, Michael accuses Astrid of tricking him to get him to come to this event. Brushing this off, Astrid insists they have to plan for the wedding on Saturday, but Michael insists he’s not going. He says Astrid can tell people he’s working. When she accuses him of seeing his mistress, he says that he “never wanted to resort to this” but admits that he is, in fact, seeing his mistress. Just then, Astrid’s sister-in-law rushes over and asks Michael to take a look at the malfunctioning oven. He snaps that he’s not a handyman and storms off, and Astrid explains that he’s just upset because he might miss the wedding.
It remains highly important to Astrid to hide any evidence that she and Michael are struggling right now. Since the narrative last focused on her perspective, readers have gotten several more clues as to how powerful and prestigious her family is—and given that divorce or other familial “imperfections” are seen as shameful, Astrid has a long way to fall if she winds up a divorcée. Michael, though, is just tired of being treated like tech support, and Astrid’s family is totally incapable of showing him genuine respect. Their focus on wealth at the exclusion of all else makes a genuine relationship impossible.
Themes
Eddie and his family are in the car that will drop them at the party, and Eddie is quizzing his children on how they’re supposed to behave. Kalliste dutifully says she’s going to play classical music on the piano, though she asks if she can also play Lady Gaga. Eddie threatens to break her fingers if she does and tells Constantine to button his jacket. He scolds the small boy for buttoning his last button, and Fiona pulls her son onto her lap. This annoys Eddie. When asked, Augustine tells Eddie how they’ll walk into the house, and Eddie excitedly says he can’t wait for people to see their “splendid entrance.”
Eddie once again seems to be played for laughs: it’s absurd, though not funny, that he’s threatening to break his daughter’s fingers for playing pop music. The point, though, is that he’s so focused on broadcasting a very specific image of his family that he’s unnecessarily cruel to his children and his wife (and he fails to see them as people). Just as Astrid’s family alienates Michael because they don’t understand his class background, Eddie alienates his immediate family because all he cares about is using them to bolster his own image.
Themes
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Eleanor follows Nick and Rachel into the Leongs’ house, thrilled when Nick takes Rachel immediately to meet Victoria and Cassandra, Philip’s “snottiest” sisters. The women coolly greet Rachel just as Eddie, Fiona, and their kids enter. Cassandra and Victoria scoff at how the kids are dressed—it’s hot, and they’re “dressed for a shooting weekend” in Scotland in designer clothes. Another couple enters behind Eddie’s family. Nick whispers to Rachel that that’s Alistair and apparently Kitty Pong. Kitty is dressed in a tight striped tube dress and wears false eyelashes and hair extensions—and as the couple approaches, Rachel realizes the white stripes on the dress are sheer, revealing Kitty’s nipples. Alistair proudly introduces Kitty while everyone gapes—and he then announces they’re engaged. Not noticing that nobody seems happy about this, Alistair greets Rachel. Victoria and Cassandra immediately ask Rachel to explain the American economy to them.
Eddie isn’t achieving his goals of a “splendid entrance,” to say the least. Cassandra and Victoria’s reaction to his kids’ clothing suggests that Eddie is out of touch. He chooses clothes that he thinks look great and connote wealth and power—but in practice, the clothes are ridiculous, inappropriate, and make him look bad. Kitty Pong reads as the epitome of classlessness. Her false lashes and extensions convey that she’s trying too hard, while her revealing dress is inappropriate for such a formal event. Rachel, then, looks reasonable as a girlfriend in comparison. In both Kitty and Eddie’s cases, their clothing choices highlight their lack of class and that they’re trying way too hard—and that they’re failing.
Themes
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