Analysis Of Lino Jung's Arranged Marriage

Growing up in China, Lindo Jong was steeped in the traditions of that culture. It was a common tradition for wealthy families to assign their son a wife that best suits his future. Arranged marriages are predetermined prior to the child’s birth and they are chosen by their desirable features. Lindo Jong knew about her destiny from a young age. One day, when a terrible flood ruined her home, she was sent to live with her future husband. On the day of her marriage, she promises herself that “ underneath the scarf I still knew who I was. I made a promise to myself: I would always remember my parents’ wishes, but I would never forget myself” (53). A marriage is an impactful event and even then, she does not allow herself to compromise with the

After being in the marriage for a few years, her mother in law, Huang tai tai wants her to provide the family with an heir. She believes that Lindo is moving around too much and confines the girl in her room. The relationship between Lindo and her husband resembles one between brothers and sisters. Subsequently, she know the relationship will not proceed for long. One day, she recalls to herself, “I started to think about how I would escape this marriage without breaking my promise to my family. It was really quite simple. I made the Huangs think it was their idea to get rid of me, that they would be the ones to say the marriage contract was not valid” (59). She tactfully manipulated her in believing exactly what she planned. Due to her smarts and ambition she is able to escape her marriage with very few

Lindo is very proud of her daughter’s success in the game of chess and like many mothers, she wants to show her daughter off. While Lindo thinks it is glorious, Waverly is quite the opposite. She recalls, “One day after we left a shop I said under my breath, ‘I wish you wouldn’t do that, telling everybody I’m your daughter’” (101). Waverly is embarrassed that her mother brags about her, but Lindo works hard to promote Waverly’s success. Little does Waverly know, by promoting her success, it gives her the invisible strength that gives her the confidence to win her matches. Her emotional outburst causes the two to be in a period of silence for a while until Waverly falls sick. As a mother, Lindo places the disagreements aside and cares for her daughter. Later, Waverly realizes, “After I got well, I discovered that, really, my mother had changed. She no longer hovered over me as I practiced… At my next tournament, while I had done well overall, in the end the points were not enough. I lost” (190). When Lindo becomes less hands-on with her daughter, Waverly slowly begins to lose her talent, her invisible strength. Waverly does not realize what she has until she loses it. The mother and daughter are like a puzzle; without each other they are not complete. In this case, Waverly loses the confidence that allowed her to conquer national chess games. Lindo had to plan her strategies to escape her arranged marriage,