A Study of Human Relations in Sui Sin Far’s Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings

索奇偉

【Abstract】Sui Sin Fars masterpiece， Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings was a prominent example of Chinese-American literature. The author dealt largely with the struggles and joys in the daily lives of Chinese families in North America. Her descriptions of the cultural conflicts of Eurasians and recent immigrants are particularly vivid. Enormous studies have been done separately on Sui Sin Fars writing style， such as linguistic regionalism and her moral ideas. There have also been abundant researches upon the major characters， such as comparative study of female characters in the novel. However， few of them have approached the novel from a more generous perspective of human relations to scrutinize the protagonists character and social background. As far as this paper is concerned， human relations could be discussed from three levels. They are， namely， family bonds， friendship and citizenship. It is aimed at giving readers a better understanding of the text.

【Key words】Sui Sin Far； Mrs. Spring Fragrance； Human Relations； Chinese-American

I. Introduction

Sui Sin Fars masterpiece， Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings is a poupular short story collection. The author narrates the struggles and joys in the daily lives of Chinese families in North America. Her descriptions of the cultural conflicts of Eurasians and recent immigrants are particularly vivid.

The book is notable for being “the earliest book of fiction published in the United States by an author of mixed Chinese and white descent.”（Gail， 1995） Sui Sin Far therefore has been recognized by critics as a pioneer North-American Asian writer. As a Eurasian writer， she not only had insight into the issue of racism of her age，but also devoted herself to the fighting against racial discriminations，advocating the establishment of a utopian community where people of all races live harmoniously.

Enormous studies have been done separately on Sui Sin Fars writing style， such as linguistic regionalism and her moral ideas. Take Marjorie Pryse for instance， he explores Sui Sin Far as a regionalist writer whose work demonstrates her struggle against mainstream American representations of the Chinese and who achieves artistic form and a strategy for helping her readers through her adaptation of English syntax in Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings. There have also been abundant researches upon the major characters， such as comparative study of female characters in the novel. Jane Hwang employs strategies of gender to renegotiate the position of the Chinese immigrant in relation to national citizenship. He argues that the book should be interpreted as an examination of the Orientalism in the authors tone and that Sui Sin Far is as much outsider as insider to the Chinese North American community.

Yet few of them have approached the novel from a more generous perspective of human relations to scrutinize the protagonists character and social background.

As far as my paper is concerned， human relations could be discussed from three levels. They are， namely， family bonds， friendship and citizenship. This way of analyzing Chinese-American literature is aimed at giving readers a better understanding of the text and Chinese-American history.

II. Family Bonds

When it comes to the family bonds portrayed in Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings， two types of love should be taken into consideration. They are， namely， the love for ones spouse and the caring for children. Marriage certainly serves as an indispensable element when we examine the conditions of family bonds for the reason that it has an enormous impact on individuals psychological state as well as the stability of a society.

Throughout the history of American literature， Chinese woman living in the late 18th or early 19th is always depicted as inferior figure who has to be at the mercy of husband and who doesnt have the right to acquire proper education. Reasons for that maybe two—one is woman； the other is Chinese. These two roles they act seem to form unbearable burden， leaving Chinese-American women breathless.

But Sui Sin Far， who could be treated as an avant-garde writer， seems to subvert this doctrine. After reading the first story in this collection， readers may feel that Mrs. Spring Fragrance， though as a female character， is spiritually powerful. Her seemingly strong husband， is actually weak in psychology. Evidence could be found in his thought about the meaning of Tennysons poem and the doubt that Mrs. Spring Fragrance has an ultra-marriage love. But as a Chinese-American woman living in the 19th century， Mrs. Spring Fragrance could learn English， read poems， and even travel in San Francisco with friends. These activities prove a fact that Mrs. Spring Fragrance is not “inferior” at all. Although Mr. and Mrs， Spring Fragrance love each other， their roles in traditional Chinese family bonds have changed.

“The Inferior Woman” tells of a story about the other side of family bonds—caring for children. Sui Sin Far narrates this culturally complex emotion from the dialogue between mother and son. The heroine Mrs. Spring Fragrance wants her son to marry someone of higher social standing， or a modern woman with more education. However， in the end she lets her son marry the “inferior woman” so as to makes him happy. At the same time， she keeps her class prejudice and aspires to raise her son's hypothetical daughter to be a “superior woman”—as if to make up the imperfections of the “inferior woman”， which shows prejudice prevails in traditional Chinese-American family.

To sum up， the love for ones spouse and the caring for children are two essential parts of family bonds. But when they are tainted with prejudice， this delicate emotion would not be pure any more.

III. Friendship

When we study the history of American Ethnic Literature， Chinese-American living in the different parts of the United States during the late 19th century should not be taken separately， conversely， they should be treated as a group.

Friendship therefore serves as an inseparable part to bring people together. This relationship is not only within Chinese-Americans， but also concerned about the interaction between native white Americans and Chinese-Americans.

As we analyze the factors that may have an impact on friendship， it would be easier for us to understand specific situations. In the beginning of Chapter Two of the story Mrs. Spring Fragrance， the heroine “was invited everywhere that the wife of an honorable Chinese merchant could go.” （20） Because of husbands social status and an outgoing character， a female Chinese-American could win friendship and respect. But if we eliminate this premise， what would happen？

Racism is the largest obstacle to the cultivation of cross-cultural friendship. In the story of “Pat and Pan”， Pan is depicted as “a half white， half Chinese girl” who lives in San Franciscos Chinatown with her Chinese merchant father， her only surviving parent （61）. While courting Pan， Carson attempts to convince her of the necessity of choosing her true white identity. In the end， Pan feels a sense of betrayal when she discovers his racist behavior. When the two meet for the last time， Pan wears a Chinese womans traditional dress and declares herself to be a “Chinese woman”（66） Pans romantic relationship with Carson and his attempt to regard her as a white woman could be interpreted as the cause of her wavering between racial identities and loyalties. In fact， Carsons perception of Pan as a white woman is a symptom of late 19th century white cultural workers imaginary of Chinatown， which isolates white from Chinese， merchant from coolie， humanity from depravity. The story exposes a fact that the purpose of racial identity is to preserve white masculinity and the white heterosexual family， which， would surely obstruct cross-cultural friendship.

IV. Citizenship

Human relation， as what we have discussed in the previous parts， is about family bonds and friendship. When taken it from a broader perspective， it also deals with the relationship between people and the country where they live. Then it comes to the topic of citizenship.

Citizenship， according to Oxford English Dictionary， means “the status of a person recognized under the custom or law as being a member of a country.” So to obtain citizenship， one needs to meet a requirement： Recognition. Do Chinese-Americans in Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings have recognition？ And do they really care about getting that？ These are the questions that could help us better understand the text.

In order to seek the answers for citizenship， emphasis should be firstly laid on regionalist discourse， from which “local color” emerge as a response of regional people being made the object of scrutiny， “queer” and “other” by mainstream. Such treatment of regionalism has much to do with immigrant and ethnic persons. As Annette White-Park has observed in early “whiteness” studies， Sui Sin Far perhaps is the first writer to use the term “Chinese-American” in the series of sketches of Chinese life in America. In other ways as well， we could find evidence from the dialogues in “A Chinese Book on Americans” to prove this view.

—“I think，” said Go Ek Ju， “that when I return to China I will write a book about American people”

—“When you write your book， it is likewise amusing.” I responded.

—“No，”said Go Ek Ju， “My aim will be to make it instructive…The poor Americans have to content themselves with writing for amusement only because they have no means of obtaining any true knowledge of the Chinese when in China； but we Chinese in America have fine facilities for learning all about the Americans…”

Sui Sin Far， “A Chinese Book on Americans”

The excerpt shows that Chinese-Americans， when compared with Americans living in China， could do much more only because “they were treated as servants.” From this case， regionalism creates a fictional space to contest the ruling relation. Thus Chinese-Americans so-called citizenship could not be obtained from a normal way.

V. Conclusion

While discussing human relations presented in Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings from the perspectives of family bonds， friendship and citizenship， we may feel that the collection of Chinese-Americans stories are deceptively simple.

In the first place， family bonds， which consist of two types of love （the love for ones spouse and the caring for children ）， have laid the foundation for Chinese-Americans spiritual world. And the attitudes towards marriage should not be tainted with pride and prejudice for the reason that the distortion of family relationship would be detrimental to individuals psychological state as well as the stability of a society.

Moreover， friendship serves as an inseparable part to bring people together. This relationship is not only within Chinese-Americans， but also concerned about the interaction between native white Americans and Chinese-Americans. As what we have discussed in previous chapters， the largest obstacle to the cultivation of cross-cultural friendship is Racism，

Last but not the least， citizenship deals with the relationship between people and the country where they live. The fact that Chinese-Americans at that time could not acquire citizenship in a normal way is the result of prevailing regionalism.

In conclusion， Sui Sin Far does not only “tell” stories， but also conveys social codes and the political constraints the United States placed on immigrant Chinese. She offers revealing views of life in Seattle and San Francisco at the turn of the twentieth century.

References：

[1]Ammons，Elizabeth.Conflicting Stories，2000，Chicago： University of Illinois Press.

[2]Bederman，Gail.A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States，Chicago：University of Chicago，1995.

[3]Greenblatt，Stephen.The Norton Anthology of American Literature，Eighth Edition，New York：W.W.Norton and Company Press，2006.

[4]Sui Sin Far.Mrs.Spring Fragrance and Other Writings，New York：New York University Press，1944.

[5]黎會華.論水仙花《春香夫人及其他作品》中的‘大同社會理想建構[J].浙江師范大學學報，2012，2：65-70.