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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

The Fan

The fan represents both the power of language and the friendship between Lily and Snow Flower. Snow Flower is the first to send the fan to Lily, with a message inviting her to a laotong relationship. Though tradition dictates that Lily would send a new fan back with her response, Lily foregoes tradition for once and writes back on the same fan. In this way, Lily hopes to make the fan symbolic of the enduring friendship she and Snow Flower will have. As they write to each other in nu shu for the duration of their relationship, the fan shows how they grow and change over the years, as well as how their friendship evolves. Having all of their messages on one fan is what allows Lily to re-read the message from Snow Flower about the sworn sisters, and come to understand that she failed to take context into account when reading the message. In this way, the fan serves as a reminder of the nuance of language, as well as its lasting power. 

Feet

In Lily and Snow Flower’s culture, having feet that are small is a symbol of femininity. Not only are smaller feet considered daintier and more attractive, they also reflect a woman’s ability to endure agonizing pain, as she will in childbirth, and her willingness to obey no matter the circumstances. Bound feet are what keep women largely confined to their homes, as bound feet are very painful to walk on, showing how this tradition is a form of oppression. The dividing line between childhood and adolescence can be drawn when a girl first begins her footbinding. Before footbinding, a girl is free to walk and play outside. After, she must rely on someone to carry her down stairs, and cannot move very much. This reality shows the suffering she will endure throughout her life, while her bound feet also become an immediate marker of her status in society.

The Lattice Window

For most of a woman’s life, she is expected to remain in the women’s chamber of her birth home or her marital home. Lily often describes looking out the lattice window of the women’s chamber, observing what is happening outside. The bars of a lattice window create imagery reminiscent of a prison cell. While Lily and Snow Flower are not locked away, their bound feet prevent them from moving easily, and as women, they are not allowed in many of the same areas as men. Women are also held to certain expectations, first living to please their birth parents and then their husband’s family. The lattice window symbolizes that, while women may technically be free, they are strictly confined by gender norms and cultural expectations.

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