Raise the Red Lantern Essay Example

was always done.

Songlian finds herself in a world that is shaped by ritual, simply because that is the way the Master’s family always had it, therefore it would not change. This shows the importance of ancestor’s to Chinese culture, as well as the importance of keeping traditions, whether good or bad. The second mistress’s introduction also showed a traditional side of Chinese culture, as she introduces Songlian to her daughter, who she calls “useless” because she is only a girl.

The value of the female sex was obviously not important to the Chinese people and throughout the film the mistresses stab each other in the back and manipulate the Master all with the hopes of getting pregnant with a son, because only then would they gain true respect within the household. Perhaps the most startling of all traditions that we see portrayed is in the fate of Meishan, the third mistress of the house, who has an illicit affair with another man. When she is found out, she is put to death by hanging as other women in past generations had been killed for their sins.

The vision of the film is to show the viewer a realistic portrayal of what women endured, even in what would appear to be a life of privilege in 1920's China. The silk, the red lanterns, the fancy dinners, handmaids, and the beautiful music are all part of the life that they enjoy but, despite all of this, what is created for these women is not a palace but a prison. The men in their lives, especially the Master, are only using all of the privileges to mask the fact that

the women are simply concubines who do not have any real rights or the ability to do anything that they want to do.

All that the women do must be done for the Master, not for themselves, as is the case with Meishan’s opera and Songlian’s flute. An argument could be made that these women, because of their status, are given some empowerment because they can treat the servants as inferiors and can learn to manipulate the affection of the Master, but in the end all that it serves to do is tear the women apart from each other and create a situation where the women are figuring out ways to hurt each other because of their jealousy and fear of losing the Master’s favor.

Men were able to keep women in their place by keeping them restricted by such staunch traditions. The traditions themselves become a prison that they cannot escape until death. The beauty of Raise the Red Lantern is that it shows the dealings of Chinese women with a common thread, and through their actions and emotions the viewer is able to learn about the world of Chinese culture in the early 20th century.

Women’s lives were shaped by the four walls of their house and the other women with whom they had to share the affection of their husband, but it was simply just another traditional part of Chinese culture that had to be abided by, just like the red lanterns in the courtyards and the hanging in the small room on the roof. Men used the idea of luxury to imprison these women within the marriage and make them feel as if they

were being empowered, when in fact they were being dominated.

This film’s power lies within its ability to translate Chinese culture to the viewer through the characters and bring to life the nuances of the traditions, helping the viewer understand a world that is completely foreign to them. As the description of the film states, “those bound by silken threads can be just as impenetrable”, and in this film the women are definitely bound by the traditions created by men.