Chen Xun s New Year s Sacrifice - 1762 Words

Lu Xun’s New Year’s Sacrifice (1924) begins with the narrator returning to their hometown for New Year after several years. The narrator can be said to symbolise the dilemma of an intellectual hoping for social reform but feeling helpless when it comes to helping women. The female protagonist is Mrs Xianglin who lives under three oppressive powers: that of the husband, of the father, and of religion. From the outset of the story, we are presented with a very traditional setting; we are introduced to Uncle Lu who is described as a â€Å"diehard Neo-Confucian of the old imperial college† and â€Å"a man ruled by superstition†. The narrator then goes on to describe the preparation for the New Year’s Sacrifice with the women as the workers â€Å"Hens are slaughtered // everything scrubbed and scoured until the women’s arms are soaked red†, however Lu Xun tactfully adds that although the women are the main labourers, they are excluded from ceremony, â€Å"Once devotions – from which women are banned – have been made, the firecrackers are lit.† This shows the reader that women appear to be the backbone of the household however are held in much less regard than their male counterpart. When Mrs Xianglin is introduced as a young widow, although however capable she may be, Uncle Lu is unconvinced in hiring her as she is a widow and may bring bad luck to the household; â€Å"Uncle frowned; my Aunt knew what was worrying him – the fact that she was a widow†. The patriarchal character represented as Uncle Lu