To feel betrayed and alone are two
feelings most people recognize. We experience betrayal several times throughout
our life from friends, family and maybe even the society. Betrayal and
loneliness often go hand in hand but when we feel lonely, we seek attention and
love elsewhere. In the short story “Jasmine”, the main character Nie Chuanqing
seeks love elsewhere because of the betrayal and hatred from his father but
this search turns out to be filled with restrained feelings and a temperament
that isn’t controllable.
The main character in the short story
“Jasmine” is called Nie Chuanqing. He is a student at a university and already
from the beginning we get the impression of who Nie Chuanqing is: “He hated
bumping into people he knew on the bus”[1].
This indicates that Nie Chuanqing is a person who prefers to distance himself
from other people. Furthermore, the meeting with Danzhu underlines this feature
at Chuanqing. When he bumps into Danzhu, she tries to start a conversation with
Chuanqing but it is obvious to the reader that Chuanqing is not interested in
this dialogue. Chuanqing’s short answers and his mental absence show us that he
is not interested in this dialogue. Besides his silence, Chuanqing seems very
fascinated by Danzhu. He describes her as very beautiful and we sense that
there is a certain undertone of restrained feelings.
When Chuanqing gets home, he tries to
sneak in unnoticed because he doesn’t want to confront his father with his
choice of classes this semester. Chuanqing’s mother’s personal maid discovers
Chuanqing and she forces him to confront his father. The confrontation gives us
the impression of the relation between father and son. Chuanqing’s father says:
“You? What’s there to see in you?”[2].
Furthermore, his father says: “Hit him, and he doesn’t cry, he just stares
at you with those big wide eyes. I can’t stand to see him staring like that. It
makes me furious!”[3].
These two statements imply that Chuanqing’s father is almost disgusted by his
own son. Chuanqing’s father commits psychological violence against his son and
he is very condescending towards Chuanqing. In the short story we are told that
the marriage between Chuanqing’s mother and father was an arranged marriage. We
are also told that there was no love between the two of them and after
Chuanqing’s mother’s death, Chuanqing’s father has projected his anger towards
Chuanqing. Chuanqing is aware of the relation between his mother and his father
and he describes his mother’s life: “She was a bird embroidered onto a
screen”[4]. Chuanqing says that his
mother isn’t a bird in a cage but a bird on a screen because a bird in a cage
can fly away when the cage is open but Chuanqing’s mother could never escape.
The turning point in the short story is
when Chuanqing finds out that Danzhu’s father Yan Ziye had a relationship with
Chuanqing’s mother. This gives Chuanqing the opportunity to seek love somewhere
else. It seems that Chuanqing’s discovery creates a certain jealousy against
Danzhu. Danzhu has a loving family and she is wasting her luck according to
Chuanqing. “So he would have all of Danzhu’s strengths, and all the ones she
lacked, too.”[5].
Chuanqing feels a certain connection
between himself and Yan Ziye and the presence of Yan Ziye makes Chuanqing
nervous. When Yan Ziye asks Chuanqing a question in class and Chuanqing doesn’t
know the answer, Yan Ziye starts yelling at Chuanqing. This causes that
Chuanqing starts crying and he isn’t able to stop. The fact that Chuanqing
feels very hurt by Yan Ziye’s yelling and the fact that he doesn’t cry when his
father hurts him indicates that Chuanqing feels a stronger connection to Yan
Ziye then he does to his father.
In the last part of the text, Chuanqing is
on his way to a party on a mountainside. On his way, Chuanqing bumps into
Danzhu and she assures her friends that Chuanqing will see her home - they
don’t have to worry. Chuanqing and Danzhu reach the top of the mountain. Chuanqing
starts wondering whether Danzhu is in love with him or if he is in love with
Danzhu. Chuanqing remembers how often Danzhu has approached despite the fact
that he isn’t the most popular guy at school. Furthermore, we are told: “He
didn’t want revenge, he just wanted love especially from someone in the Yan
family.”[6]. This statement indicates that
Chuanqing needs to feel loved by someone he cares about as well. Throughout his
entire childhood he has felt betrayed and let down by his parents and he has
never gotten any support from his father. Even though Chuanqing says that he
hates Danzhu, he probably has some restrained feelings for her. Danzhu is the
only one who gives him the attention he needs. Chuanqing also says that “I
want a father and a mother”[7] which implies that
Chuanqing needs to have a loving family too. When Danzhu rejects Chuanqing, he
gets furious and all the hatred that has grown in him throughout his life is
let out. Chuanqing starts beating Danzhu and when he believes that she is dead
he runs away. The short story ends with the statement: “He couldn’t escape.”[8].
This indicates that Chuanqing can never escape his father and the wounds on his
soul his father has caused.
The beginning of the short story is worth
noticing. We are told that the jasmine tea might be a little bitter and that we
have to be careful because it might be hot. Furthermore, the jasmine tea is
often known as a very good tea. We can compare the description of the jasmine
tea with Nie Chuanqing. Chuanqing is first described as a quit boy and the
descent boy but because of his rough childhood and his lack of care from his
parents his temper can suddenly explode. With the tea you have to be careful
that the pot of tea doesn’t boil over and with Chuanqing you have to be careful
that his temper doesn’t boil over.
When you have felt the betrayal that Chuanqing has felt,
you can easily imagine how your anger can suddenly explode. The problem arises
when you can’t control your anger and you become a danger to your surroundings.
In Chuanqing’s case his temper gets out of control because the wounds on his
soul are so deep and the question is whether the wounds will heal or only get
deeper?
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