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
Eddie, dressed in underwear and a dress shirt, carefully unwraps his special Italian tux for Colin’s wedding. The pants are too tight; the size seems right and he hasn’t put on that much weight, so obviously “[t]hose” Italians made a mistake. But when the jacket seems tight too, he yells for Fiona over the intercom, and when she runs in, he asks if the jacket is too tight. She says it is; Eddie has gained weight. Fiona doesn’t argue, but she’s shocked when Eddie asks if the kids are ready for inspection—celebrity photographer Russel Wing will be here momentarily to photograph the family for Orange Daily. Flustered, Fiona runs to get ready herself.
Eddie continues to read as entitled and cruel. And since Astrid revealed earlier that Eddie has cheated a lot, it begins to make sense why Astrid referred to Fiona as a “victim”: Eddie sees his wife and children as props, not people. This also ties into Eddie’s focus on using fashion to broadcast the family’s wealth and prestige. Fiona and the kids, in other words, exist in Eddie’s mind to model women’s and children’s fashions, while it’s up to him to model menswear. Every family member has a role to play, and Eddie won’t let anyone argue about participating.
Themes
Soon after, Eddie inspects Constantine, Augustine, and Kalliste, dressed in their Ralph Lauren Kids finery. He makes Augustine cry when he tells the six-year-old that he must be stupid to try to wear black shoes with khaki pants. Ten minutes after, Fiona comes downstairs in a gray ballgown—and Eddie says he hates the dress, as it makes her look like a “spinster widow.” Fiona insists he approved the dress long ago and says it’s very expensive. Eddie maintains the dress is a cheap-looking “disgrace.” Fiona points out that Eddie’s suit looks actually cheap; it’s shiny and held closed with safety pins. Russel Wing arrives and immediately compliments Fiona’s dress, noting how expensive and difficult to buy it is. Eddie says he bought it for Fiona.
Eddie continues to demonstrate that he sees his wife and children as props. Their job, in his understanding, is to make him look good—which he believes justifies berating a six-year-old for choosing the wrong shoes. While this is somewhat humorous in its absurdity, it also highlights that Eddie has totally lost his humanity and compassion. Further, his relationship with Fiona seems ready to crack as she finally fights back for the right to wear this ballgown. She also suggests that Eddie is in no way achieving his goals of looking fabulous and rich, as contrary to what he thinks, he has no fashion sense.
Themes
After the photoshoot, Eddie calls Cecelia and asks what she and her family are wearing to the wedding—the whole family needs to coordinate. She doesn’t know what she’s wearing and if her son agrees to tuck his shirt in, it’ll be a win. She also notes that, as Singaporean men have no style, many will inevitably wear “those ghastly untucked batik shirts” instead of tuxes. Eddie is flabbergasted and enraged, as clearly his family is going to look like “peasants.” Maybe Colin will change the seating chart so Eddie won’t have to be seen with his parents. Eddie then asks if Alistair is still going to bring Kitty Pong. Cecelia says he is, and she shares that Alistair is currently in Macau for Colin’s bachelor party. Eddie screams that Colin is better friends with him than he is with Alistair, splitting his pants in the process.
Eddie’s embarrassment about his family of origin persists even now, into adulthood, as they refuse to let him use them like props like he uses Fiona and his own kids. Cecelia reads as way more supportive of her family as people, as she seems to have no interest in fighting with her son about his shirt or trying to convince Alistair to break up with Kitty. Their choices, she implies, have nothing to do with her—while Eddie sees those choices as reflecting badly on him. Eddie then perceives it as an insult that he wasn’t invited to Colin’s bachelor party. It seems unlikely that Eddie is actually friends with Colin, suggesting again that Eddie would just want to use the invite to flaunt his prestige and his connections.
Themes
