Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Daughter Days: The Fan & Daughter Days: Snow Flower Summary & Analysis

Daughter Days: The Fan & Daughter Days: Snow Flower

Summary: Daughter Days: The Fan

After burying Third Sister and Grandmother, Lily and Beautiful Moon continue with their footbinding, and Elder Brother and Elder Sister begin preparations for their marriages with the local matchmaker, Madame Gao, whom Lily thinks of as much less refined than Madame Wang. One day, Elder Sister’s sworn sisters visit. They sing “The Story of the Woman with Three Brothers,” which tells the tale of a woman who hangs herself as her brothers cannot afford a dowry. Lily now understands that the message of the story is how the responsibility of a woman shifts from man to man.

Madame Wang visits and says she has found a laotong match for Lily, a girl named Snow Flower. Lily and Snow Flower are aligned in the eight characters, which refer to factors such as birthday, birth order, and height, but Snow Flower’s family is of higher social standing than Lily’s. Madame Wang hands Lily a fan and asks Mama to consider the arrangement before leaving. Lily opens the fan, and with Elder Sister’s help, reads a message from Snow Flower written in nu shu asking if they can be “sames together.” After her parents agree to the relationship, Lily responds to Snow Flower’s message on the same fan instead of on a new one as dictated by tradition, as she hopes to immortalize their friendship on the fan. Madame Wang takes the fan to deliver to Snow Flower.

Summary: Daughter Days: Snow Flower

A few days later, Lily excitedly awaits her meeting with Snow Flower. Along with Madame Wang, Lily joins Snow Flower in a palanquin, where they travel to the Temple of Gupo. After Madame Wang gets out of the palanquin, Snow Flower talks, referring to Madame Wang as “Auntie.” After Lily questions her use of this term, Snow Flower remarks that this is the first time Lily has spoken, and that while Snow Flower’s talking gets her in trouble, Lily will be a good wife because she does not talk too much.

Madame Wang returns and tells the girls to pick out a piece of paper on which they will write their laotong contract. Lily first points out a large sheet of paper, though Snow Flower observes that its poor quality will not reflect the lasting nature of their relationship. Snow Flower then picks out a smaller, though more substantial, piece of paper, and Lily thinks of how refined Snow Flower is compared to her. After they sign a promise to be bonded for life, Madame Wang says that their relationship will be as sacred as a marriage. However, unlike a marriage, they must never allow anyone to come between them. Snow Flower and Lily then explore the fair, moving slower than Lily would like as Snow Flower is still healing from her footbinding. They ride back to Lily’s home, where Snow Flower will stay for a few days. Lily is self-conscious about her family’s home, as she knows Snow Flower is used to more elegant accommodations. As they fall asleep, Lily wonders how she can gain the love she craves from Snow Flower.

Analysis: Daughter Days: The Fan & Daughter Days: Snow Flower

Lily feels an instant connection to Snow Flower first when she reads her message on the fan, and then when they meet at the Temple of Gupo. However, Lily is keenly aware of the fact that she is of a lower social class than Snow Flower, something Snow Flower does not seem to pay much mind to. Lily is self-conscious about her relative lack of sophistication when she first picks out a cheaply made piece of paper, and then when she sees her home through the eyes of Snow Flower. Even before learning of Snow Flower, Lily looks down on Madame Gao for her lack of refinement. The interest that the refined Madame Wang has taken in Lily has made Lily long for a higher social status, which will be made possible by her relationship with Snow Flower. Although she and Snow Flower do not know each other very well by the end of their first day together, Lily already longs for her love. This longing may be indicative of the love she has never received from her mother or sisters. However, it may also show Lily’s desire to be accepted by a higher social class. This ambition will allow Lily to ascend to a higher status, but not without the expense of her relationships.

The introduction of the fan on which Snow Flower and Lily communicate in nu shu represents the beginning of their relationship. Though Lily will prove herself to be beholden to tradition and cultural norms for most of her life, she rebuffs them here in favor of making a statement about her relationship with Snow Flower. Rather than returning a message on a new fan, Lily opts to use the same fan so that they may always see the words that pass between them. The fan will serve as a symbol of how their friendship progresses from childhood into womanhood. The fan’s physical presence will also serve as a useful tool for Lily to later reflect on what happened between the two of them, and ultimately be able to tell her story.

As Lily and Snow Flower happily enter into their laotong contract, the future of their relationship is foreshadowed in various ways. Madame Wang reminds them that their bond is stronger than that of a marriage, as husbands often have concubines who live in the marital home. Madame Wang warns them to not allow anyone else to come between them as a concubine would come between a husband and wife. Though Lily is glad to be in Snow Flower’s presence, she is dismayed that they cannot move as quickly as she would like due to Snow Flower’s healing feet. That Snow Flower has not yet fully healed from her footbinding is suspicious, as she is supposed to come from a more prestigious family than Lily, and so would have started the process earlier. Lily’s reaction is one of disappointment instead of patience and compassion and hints at the dynamics of their relationship in the future.

The uses for the women’s language of nu shu are explored further in these chapters. Snow Flower and Lily write to each other in nu shu, showing how it can be used as a tool to facilitate important female friendships. Lily also hears Elder Sister’s sworn sisters tell stories that are sung in nu shu, which offer important lessons for women, both in practical and moral senses. Lily and Snow Flower’s contract is written in nu shu, indicating how the laotong relationship is something only women can understand. In these ways, the language gives women space to understand each other and aspects of the world without the oppression of men.