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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mao’s Last Dancer, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Opportunity, Hard Work, and Success
Love and Family
The Power of Stories
Freedom vs. Repression
Summary
Analysis
On a beautiful October morning in 1946, an 18-year-old bride (later identified as Cunxin’s mother, or niang) worries that her husband-to-be, whom she has not met, might be infirm, old, or abusive. She worries he will judge her harshly for her unladylike, unbound feet, even though they allow her to do harder work than many of her peers. Throughout the wedding day, the bride, groom, and their families enact rituals designed to ensure good fortune, happiness, prosperity, and many sons. The bride, who has never even left her house before, cries with grief and terror on the trip to her new in-laws’ house.
Li Cunxin begins his story not with himself but with his parents, whose early lives and marriage happened before the Chinese Communist Party took control of the country in 1949. Readers might note the limited roles of women in the earlier decades of the twentieth century, both due to social customs like foot-binding and to expectations about marriage that subjugated women to their husbands.
Themes
To enter their house, the bride (Niang) and groom (Cunxin’s father, or dia) must step over a saddle in the doorway without tripping, symbolizing their ability to overcome difficulties in their life. The bride can hardly see through her thick veil, but the groom holds her hand and gently guides her. She crosses without stumbling but accidentally shows her unbound feet to the family. She feels certain they will reject her.
The pre-communist Chinese wedding rituals contain rich symbolism. Importantly, stepping over the saddle is something that the bride and groom must do together: because Niang cannot see, she relies on Dia’s help. His gentleness bodes well for their marriage and symbolically enacts the role of a family in helping people to surmount difficulties in life.
Themes
Inside the home, the bride (Niang) and groom (Dia) sit on the bed for more rituals. The groom soothes the bride and promises never to hurt her. She lifts her veil, showing her beautiful face to her lucky groom. She, in turn, sees a handsome, honest, and humble man. They fall in love at first sight. Soon, his mother brings them noodles and rice wine, a meal laden with symbolism. Then his brothers, sisters, and sisters-in-law come to wish them luck. The bride discovers that her youngest sister-in-law also has “big feet.” For three days, the bride sits perfectly still in the bed all day while friends and family celebrate with the groom. Then, on the fourth day, the groom takes her to visit her family. By that time, they’ve already developed a deep bond of love and affection.
Dia’s ongoing kindness and respect toward Niang bode well for their happiness and the resilience of their marriage. Crucially, the wedding rituals also prepare them for the possibility that their success as a couple will involve sacrifice and discomfort at times. By withstanding the ritual of sitting motionless in the bed, Niang proves her internal fortitude—something that she will pass on to her sons, as later events will demonstrate. She shows that it’s possible to conform oneself to align with external expectations, although not without discomfort.
Themes
