Examples Of Prejudice And Racism In Edith Eaton's Fragring Image

This read was overall very eye opening for me because I had never really thought about the prejudices that whites had towards the Chinese. Mrs. Spring Fragrance is a collection of short stories written by Edith Eaton. She took the pen name Sin Sui Far to embrace her Chinese heritage and these short stories have a strong focus on Chinese characters. In class we were shown a passage from “Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of a Eurasian” which showed us one of Eaton’s own experiences. “I cannot reconcile myself to the thought hat the Chinese are humans like ourselves. They may have immortal souls, but their faces seem to be so utterly devoid of expression that I cannot help but doubt… Their bodies are enough for me. A Chinaman is, in my eyes, more repulsive than a nigger… They always give me such a creepy feeling… I wouldn’t have one in my house” (Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of a Eurasian). These statements are examples of the types of stereotypes and racism that Chinamen were victims of. I think these short stories are Eaton’s way of using her platform as a writer to battle the stereotypes that are given to the people that are apart

of her Chinese culture, and that being Chinese is not something to be ashamed of.
Edith battles the stereotype that all Chinamen are emotionless throughout her story.

In “Its Wavering Image” we see an example of this through the character Pan. A white man by the name of Mark Clarkson is trying to have Pan identify her as white because he believes that if she is Chinese she is not worthy of him. One night while they are together he sings for her and she shows her emotion. “Listening to that irresistible voice singing her heart away, the girl broke down and wept. She was so young and so happy” (Its Wavering Image). Later on in the short story Mark is thinking of Pan and in his head describes her as “so appreciative, so inspiring, so loving” (Its Wavering Image). To Mark, he sees this as her being white when in reality she is a Chinese woman that proving the stereotype of the Chinese being emotionless is

incorrect.
The character of Pan is also used by Eaton to show that being a Chinese woman is something to be proud of. Mark comes back to see Pan and is expecting her to be in American clothing, but she is dressed in “the Chinese costume” (Its Wavering Image). He asks her why she is dressed that way and she responds with “Because I am a Chinese Woman” (Its Wavering Image). He can’t except that she is anything but white and tells her that their kiss that they shared was a promise that she was white. She holds her ground saying “A white woman… I would not be a white woman for all the world” (Its Wavering Image). Pan is standing up for who she really is and I think Edith wants her readers to realize that being a Chinese woman is nothing to be ashamed of.
In another class that I am taking this semester we read a book that dealt a lot with racism. This particular book dealt with a young black man that was accused of stealing from a convenience store because of the way he looked and dressed, and was brutally assaulted by the police officer that made the arrest. Reading about some of the stereotypes that whites had towards Chinese people based on their looks reminded me of that book.