Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Crazy Rich Asians, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Wealth and Absurdity
Marriage and Money
Family vs. Individuality
Chinese vs. Western Culture
Summary
Analysis
Though the Tai family fortune was originally made “the dirty way,” Carol Tai has spent the last few decades making the family name “respectable.” This is why she’s now hosting her weekly Bible study for her friends, Eleanor Young, Daisy Foo, Lorena Lim, and Nadine Shaw. Eleanor is the last to arrive and skips the front door and the butler, walking herself through the service wing to Carol’s bedroom. She assumes her place of honor on Carol’s Qing dynasty rosewood bed. (Though Carol is married to the billionaire financier, Eleanor is the group’s unofficial leader because she grew up speaking English before Chinese and also married Philip Young.)
The narrative implies that all of these women are extremely wealthy, as evidenced by Carol having an entire service wing. The reasons that Eleanor is the group’s leader, though, are interesting. Speaking English before Chinese suggests that Eleanor’s family placed more value on associating with Europe and western culture; now, as an older adult, this gives Eleanor clout. And the narrator also drops Philip’s name like readers are supposed to know who he is. They don’t know who he is, but introducing him like they should gives the impression that he’s rich and powerful—hence Eleanor’s status among her friends.
Themes
As the ladies enjoy their braised quail and abalone over hand-pulled noodles, Daisy flips through her Bible and Nadine peruses the Singapore Tattle for pictures of her daughter Francesca, the “Shaw Foods heiress.” They discuss the magazine’s coverage of Carol’s latest charity gala and how much weight one of their peers has gained—as well as how much money the woman inherited when her father died. Nadine asks why there are no pictures of Astrid, and Eleanor sniffs that her husband’s family “would rather die than appear in print.” Families like the Youngs and the Leongs are fanatical about preserving privacy. Carol adds that Astrid is wonderful; it’s supposed to be a secret, but she wrote the biggest check for the fundraiser.
Bible study, it seems, is less about studying the Bible and more about gossiping. That the women are gossiping about a peer’s weight and financial situation makes it seem like this social circle is petty and cutthroat: anything can become fodder for other women to snicker about. Eleanor’s explanation that the Youngs and the Leongs don’t want to end up in the magazines sets these families apart from, for instance, Nadine’s family. Being in print, it seems, isn’t the point: the point is enjoying their wealth in private.
Themes
Just then, a pretty maid enters the room with a chest filled with Carol’s latest jewelry acquisitions. Eleanor and Lorena admire the rubies from “Burma,” while Daisy notes that Burma has been Myanmar for 20 years. When Eleanor scoffs that Daisy sounds like Nick, Daisy asks when Nick arrives for Colin Khoo’s wedding and where Nick will stay. It becomes clear that Eleanor hasn’t heard about Nick’s girlfriend—who, Daisy whispers, is from New York, though she’s Chinese. Eleanor is aghast. Daisy thinks the girl is from Taiwan, and Nadine cackles that hopefully she’s not a “Taiwanese tornado” (Taiwanese girls who swoop in, marry nice men, and then take all the money and jewelry in the divorce).
Carol’s jewelry purchases again illustrate how wealthy she is: she’s purchased many ruby pieces, and she traveled abroad to do so. Eleanor’s reaction to learning that Nick is bringing a girl home offers insight into the kind of person she is. She seems to expect that Nick would tell her about a girlfriend, though whether this is because she believes they’re close or because she thinks he’s supposed to isn’t clear. But when Eleanor is so shocked that Rachel is American (or perhaps Taiwanese), it suggests she has a very specific idea of the kind of girl Nick should date—and Rachel doesn’t conform to this idea.
Themes
Just then, Carol’s husband, Dato’ Tai Toh Lui, saunters in and says Taiwanese girls are great—they “know how to take care of a man.” More importantly, though, the company Sina Land is going to collapse. After explaining his strategy for getting his shares out, he presses a button and walks out the opening glass door toward the pool. Daisy, Nadine, and Lorena leap up to call their brokers, as they’re “losing millions by the second.” Carol prays and asks Jesus to watch over her friends as they try to sell their shares, while Eleanor prays that Nick isn’t really dating a Taiwanese girl.
Dato’ Tai Toh Lui seems utterly unconcerned about Sina Land’s collapse, and he’s totally confident in his strategy for saving his own investments. As when Harry Leong bought the hotel in less than an hour, this gives the impression that this is a lot of money on the line, but it’s really nothing to worry about. It’s laughable, then, that Carol prays for her friends to successfully save their own fortunes—Jesus, it’s worth noting, advocated for helping the poor, not necessarily for helping already wealthy women stay that way.
Themes
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