Kwiat Śniegu i sekretny wachlarz Lisy See jako ornamentalna kronika cierpienia i udręki

Abstract

It is believed that the nüshu script was created by women only for their own use, in secret from men. It was used especially for communication between women united for eternity, as kindred sisters (laotong), eager to share the sorrows and concerns about their daily life and future marriage. It was also used to embroider pillows, handkerchiefs, and even clothes and tablecloths. Third-day wedding books (the dowry with poems about women's destiny) contradicted men's assumption that women were not able to think for themselves, or express their opinion in a creative audible way. Lisa See's novel shows the culture and mentality of a Chinese province where women, seen as useless twigs, using their own code, found a way to communicate with one another in order to convey emotions. The story of Snow Flower and Lily, who are connected with each other through a contract, told from a perspective of an eighty-year-old woman, is not only a story of a difficult situation of women suffering from pain and dreaming of love, but above all, the linguistic image of emotions stored in the folds of the fan.