What Does The Red Candle Symbolize In The Joy Luck Club

Throughout the novel, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan there are numerous symbols to help the reader to understand the characters and their backgrounds with broader depth. Among these metaphorical images includes Lindo’s unbreakable marriage bond tied together by the red candle. The red candle not only symbolizes the powerful meaning of Lindo’s marital promise, but also her ability to honor her family, and her revelation to finally put her nearly forfeited destiny back in the control of her own hands.
The red candle with two ends to light, one for the husband and the other for the wife, symbolized a Chinese marriage, “a marriage bond that was worth more than a Catholic promise not to divorce” (Tan 59). Lindo’s candle symbolized more than just her vows; it also represented the everlasting connection between a husband and wife. According to Lindo, the red candle’s purpose was to seal the wife with the “husband and his family, no excuses afterward” (Tan 59). If the candle was continuously lit for the

entire night, the authenticity of the inescapable marriage would be confirmed, allegedly locking Lindo into her life long commitment to be Tyan-yu’s wife.
The red candle was a symbol of sealing a husband and wife together forever in matrimony, but for Lindo, it was to honor a promise to her family, an important aspect of Chinese culture.

“I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents’ promise. This means nothing to you, because to you promises mean nothing” (Tan 49). In this quote, Lindo told her American-born daughter, Waverly, that she was blind to what a true promise was. Lindo proved she had a strong sense of obligation when she accepted her undesirable fate as Tyan-yu’s spouse in order to honor her family, and not put them to shame. While she did not want to live with her destined groom and his horrendous mother, Huang Taitai, where she was treated as no more than a servant, she would to honor her family. As Lindo was leaving to live with Tyan-yu and his family, her own mother said, “Obey your family. Do not disgrace us” (Tan 54); Lindo was not willing to disappoint her mother, so she did as she

commanded.
Lindo formerly dreaded the red candle, thinking it was controlling her marriage, but eventually she came to understand that she determined her fate, not a candle. Before the marriage ceremony began, Lindo had a revelation and came to understand that she was strong and did not have to surrender herself to honor her family’s wishes. “My throat filled with so much hope that it finally burst and blew out my husband’s end of the candle” (Tan 60). Lindo asserted herself for the first time by putting the candle’s flickering flame to its silence. By doing so, she decided for herself that she was not permanently married and she began to assemble a clever plan on how to escape her unwanted marriage without shaming her kin.
The red candle symbolized an unbreakable Chinese tradition and Lindo’s inevitable marriage to Tyan-yu. However, Lindo takes a stand for herself when she extinguishes the candle’s flame, no longer letting it determine the outcome of her life. Her bold act led to the realization that no one but herself could change her life for the better, and she was at last able to break away from the unsought grip of the red candle.