Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

1) How is the power of imagination a major theme of the story?

In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Luo and the narrator live in the country side during an era known as the Cultural Revolution where the communist Chinese officials prohibit reading any materials except the "Little Red Book" written by Mao Zedong. In the village, Luo and the narrator had to be "re-educated by the poor peasants" (Sijie 6). They believed that "it all came down to Mao's hatred of intellectuals" for them to live in such a constricted society. Because of their hardships during their stay in Phoenix mountain, their only way to conquer their harsh life was through stories, stories from movies and stories from books that were banned. The power of imagination allowed the characters in the story to conquer the hardships created by the environment they lived in, and through the stories they read, the characters feel more open to the possibility of the world.

Imagination gave Luo and the narrator some hope during their stay. From the beginning, Luo was known as the story teller. "The only thing Luo was really good at was telling stories (18). Although such talent had "little future in it" (18), his story-telling abilities impressed the headman of the village. Because of his liking with story-telling, Luo and the narrator "got two days off for the journey to town and two for the return" (19). In return, they had to "relate the film from beginning to end to the headman and everyone else" (19). The power of imagination, as depicted in this scene, is universal, for the story-telling not only impressed the headman but also the villagers. From story-telling, Luo and the narrator received what they considered a "welcome change" (20) and eventually, a life-changing moment.

When the two read the books from Four Eyes, the power of imagination captured their minds. From there, they became obsessed with Western literature. Primarily, the narrator used the books to apart himself from the harsh reality and escape into his own fantasy world. Notably, he fell in love with Jean-Christophe's book. "To me, it was the ultimate book: once you had read it, neither your own life nor the world you lived in would ever look the same" (111). From the book, the narrator learns the value of life. "After all, how could I die now, without having known love or sex, without having taken free individual action against the whole world, as he had?" (114). The power of imagination allowed them to cover their feelings of the communistic society that they lived in, and gave them an imaginary escape path to freedom.

Out of all the characters in the story, perhaps, the Little Seamstress benefitted the most from the power of imagination. She changed her lifestyle accordingly to the stories she heard from Luo. Luo wanted her to love a civilized girl, so he read her books from Balzac. "With these books I shall transform the Little Seamstress. She'll never be a simple mountain girl again" (100). Ironically, this led to the ending of the Little Seamstress running away from her limited life. The image of her "mannish jacket, bobbed hair and white shoes" (182) depicts her changed life style, new image of herself, and her willingness for the new city-life. In the end, she realized the most important lesson from the stories she heard, "that a woman's beauty is a treasure beyond price" (184).

Imagination can change one's life dramatically. Imagination gives hope. The characters in the story learn from Western literature, where their characters have their own freedom. Because of this opposite view from their world they live in, they become more relaxed about their lifestyle. They gain knowledge of the possibilities in their life, and they feel more independent in their limited society.