The Leftover Woman

Immigration and Anti-Asian Racism remains an important theme in Part 3. Jasmine recounts the story of her first days with Rebecca and Brandon. Her given name is “Luli,” which means “Dewy Jasmine” in Chinese. Rebecca finds the name foreign and difficult to pronounce and encourages Jasmine to use the Americanized “Lucy” instead, citing how much easier it is to say. Jasmine observes, “Of course she meant it would be so much easier for her” (189). This incident highlights both the assimilationist nature of American society and Rebecca’s unexamined prejudices. Although interested in publishing books by women of color, Rebecca does not fully recognize the humanity of the women of color in her life. Jasmine further observes that she remains almost invisible to Rebecca and that Rebecca clearly does not see her as a complex, multi-faceted individual. She sees only two characteristics: her race and her class position. Jasmine’s ability to reflect and analyze further highlights the two women’s differences: Rebecca considers herself “the brain” and stereotypes Lucy as unintelligent, but Lucy (Jasmine) is arguably the smarter of the two.

Rebecca further complicates sympathetic readings of her character through her interactions with Gina. She is markedly self-interested and pursues a friendship with Gina only because Gina is Isabel’s agent. Gina is Korean, which further complicates Rebecca’s duplicitous overtures of friendship. Problematic relationships with women of color are commonplace for Rebecca as she instrumentalizes them to achieve her desired outcomes. It is also noteworthy that Gina deftly deals with the racist microaggressions that her and Rebecca’s daughters, both children of color, are subjected to. Here again, Rebecca is not attuned to the nuances of race and racism and has not anticipated that her Asian daughter will face discrimination from other children. She is grateful to Gina for “dealing with” the problem, but her focus remains on extracting permission to publish Isabel’s book from her.

Kwok continues to engage with Cross-Cultural Adoption and the Impact of China’s One-Child Policy through her depiction of the way that adoption impacts Jasmine, Fifi, and Rebecca. Jasmine (as Lucy) bonds instantly with her biological daughter, Fifi. The two have much in common, and Jasmine feels a sense of peace when she is near her. She observes that “For someone who had longed to find a reflection of herself in anyone around them, it felt like finally coming home to find my own daughter” (191). Fifi, too, is drawn to her nanny, and the strength of their bond becomes an increasing source of jealousy and anger for Rebecca. She feels shut out of their relationship and resents Lucy for the ease with which she relates to Fifi. Fifi begins to question her history and asks Rebecca why her “real mommy” didn’t want her, another aspect of adoption that Rebecca is unprepared to address. This characterization pains Rebecca, and she feels even further disconnected from Fifi. All three characters are shown to suffer as a result of Fifi’s adoption, and this depiction is meant to question the politics of cross-cultural adoption as a practice. The author argues here that a system that causes intense emotional damage to all involved might not be as humanitarian as it is thought to be.

Part 3 further engages with Gender Roles and Women’s Autonomy through its depiction of Wen’s violence. Spousal abuse is a spectrum of behaviors, and Wen’s treatment of Jasmine has already been characterized as emotionally abusive: His jealous, controlling behavior was harmful to Jasmine, and his callous theft of their daughter further evidenced his lack of ethics and empathy. That he now resorts to violence and burglary to get Jasmine back speaks to patterns of domestic abuse in relationships and shows how escalating anger and violence endanger women. Additionally, the police officers are initially racist toward her and Fifi after the break-in, highlighting the way structural racism and unexamined biases can further marginalize women in dangerous situations.