Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstress Passages

Passage Analysis from Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

The opening passages of the novel Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie introduce the eponymous character. The author characterizes the Little Seamstress through the description of her physical appearance and her residential setting, constructing her with discordant elements of innocence and sensuality, as well as establishing the conflict she has with her environment.
The passages clearly establish the contrastingly pure and passionate descriptions of the Little Seamstress. The author initially constructs an image of her innocence by depicting her engaged with her “sewing machine” in an archetypal, domestic, female pursuit. The bold color imagery in her “pale pink canvas shoes” implies her grace and demureness, which pairs with the color of her “white nylon socks” and

“white blouse”, suggesting her untainted innocence. This however, is directly juxtaposed with the sensual implications of the color of her “brand-new red silk ribbon”, which evokes an air of flirtation and lust. This is compounded as the author notes the “sparkle in her eyes”, further indicating that she is not all she seems on the surface. The two starkly opposing sides of her character create a conflict that pits the Little Seamstress against herself.
The Little Seamstress is strongly distinguished from her environment, and tension is created in the strong disparity she faces with the setting.

Her home is in a state of absolute squalor, “the floorboards were grimy and streaked with yellow and black gobs of dried spittle” obviously left unwashed for a long time, which is ironically unsuitable for the seductive “princess of Phoenix Mountain”. Her conflict with her environment is further reinforced with the author’s choice of battle diction in the metaphor describing piles of cloth “under siege from an army of ants”, connoting unrest. This is added to by the symbolic presence of “a book lying on the table”, implying her craving for forbidden knowledge in the illiterate countryside. She also chooses to adorn herself with her “pale pink shoes” and “red silk ribbon” out of a sense of her own pride, and perhaps even a taste of disobedience from life in the dusty village, symbolic adumbrations of rebellion. The incongruity created by the contrasting characterization of the Little Seamstress and the setting create a palpable sense of disagreement, and

confinement.
The Little Seamstress is carefully portrayed with layered implications to create conflict within herself and against her environment. The author utilizes strongly symbolic imagery and diction to construct vital aspects of characterization and setting, leaving the reader to question who the Little Seamstress truly is.