Chapter Analysis- Chapter 13
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie, is about two teenage boys, Luo and the narrator, deemed reactionaries, who are sent to a mountain village to be re-educated during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in China. In the previous chapter, the two boys steal foreign books, which were forbidden at the time. Chapter 13 focuses on the narrator’s growing infatuation with the Western novels and Luo’s dedication to the Little Chinese Seamstress to re-educate her and provides key information regarding the characters and major themes of the novel. Chapter 13 is the beginning of the metamorphosis that all the characters in the novel undergo after their exposure to foreign books.
Chapter 13 furthers the representation of the Little Chinese Seamstress. It constantly alludes to the fact the Seamstress is a ‘lovely mountain girl in need of culture’ (pg 101). It seems both the narrator and Luo view the Seamstress in a condescending manner in that she is portrayed to be naïve and dependent, reliant on the boys to rescue her from her ignorance and civilise her both intellectually and culturally.
The characters of both Luo and the narrator are also heavily contrasted. Luo’s dedication towards the Seamstress is highlighted as he frequently embarks on risky journeys ‘like a knight errant’ (pg 103) in order to ‘endow the lovely Little Seamstress with culture’ (pg 103). It seems that Luo will even tackle his phobia of heights for her. This confidence that Luo has in his own abilities is contrasted with the narrator’s paranoia. The narrator dreams that the Little Seamstress falls off a cliff and dies. The dream shows the narrator’s contemplative nature whilst Luo dismisses the dreams, emphasising the stark difference between the two characters. Such dreams remind the reader of the psychological toll the oppressive nature of the communist regime had on individuals.
The power of literature, arguably the most important theme in the novel, is strongly emphasised in this chapter by delving into how the narrator’s love affair with foreign books changes his perception of the world around him. He is “seduced, overwhelmed, spell-bound by the mystery of the outside world” (pg 101) through the books as they offer escapism, education and opportunity. This chapter particularly focuses on the power of literature to free the mind as the narrator is taught about the “splendour of taking free and independent action as an individual” (pg 102). Prior to this enlightening, individualism was a foreign concept to the narrator as he had grown up in a society where differences were critised and conformity was promoted. Through these books the narrator feels that ‘neither your own life nor the world you [live] in would ever look the same” (pg 103). The power of literature impacts on the narrator’s character by giving him the strength to resist Marxist ideology and makes his harsh re-education more bearable.
During a perilous hike to the Little Chinese Seamstress, the narrator gets premonition of disaster due to the lurking “red-beaked raven” (pg 101), a recurring symbol in the novel. In both Chinese culture and popular literature, ravens have a negative connotation. The red beak is often thought to represent the communist revolution of China as though the two boys are being watched by the regime. It is used as a symbol for fate and foreshadows concepts such as passion and death, usually in relation to the Seamstress.
Overall, Chapter 13 is important as it helps to further develop the characters and reinforce key themes present throughout the novel. It is from this point on that the narrator is captivated by the vastly different worlds in the foreign books and they begin to truly impact the characters’ behaviour, emotions and thoughts.
