During the 19th century many Asian men migrated to other countries strictly for work leaving behind their families. The longevity of their stay in new countries starts to influence their identity because some begin to neglect parts of their roots and embrace new ones taken from other cultures. Their grasp on new cultures shape their lives in many ways, including their new families. In the novel Mrs. Spring Fragrance, Edith Maude Eaton short stories: Mrs. Spring Fragrance and The Wisdom of the New emphasizes that there is some positive and negatives in embracing and neglecting cultures (American / Chinese).
In the short story, Mrs. Spring Fragrance, when the wife arrives to America she is “unacquainted …show more content…
Mrs. Spring Fragrance sense of her Chinese self is completely diluted by Americanization because she picks up new ideologies that strays her away from the traditional Chinese customs. For example, when Mrs. Spring Fragrance hears about Laura’s confliction of marring the Chinese government school teacher she disagrees because since they are in living America her parents should follow the American customs of marriage. This clearly exemplifies the manner in which the Mrs. Spring Fragrance is disregarding her Chinese culture and taking on this new American standard of living. However, even though American beliefs on marriage is appealing, nothing is wrong with the traditional Chinese way of marriage because Mr. Spring Fragrance and Mrs. Spring Fragrance marriage is perfectly fine even though they were betrothed. Mrs. Spring Fragrance is so brainwashed into believing that America is superior because when she attends the lecture “America the Protector of China” (52) she holds a firm belief that America is protecting China, when in actuality they are not. Mr. Spring Fragrance starts off very Americanized but it starts to diminish …show more content…
When Pau Lin and Wou Sankwei arrives in America, Pau Lin stays true to her original customs while her husband strays the fence of being American but staying Asian. Having the dominate culture be American leaves the child to desert his Asian identity. For example, in the text it