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
Nick opens the car door for Rachel and thanks Peik Lin for bringing her. Peik Lin desperately wants to get out and explore, but instead she asks if the house is Ah Ma’s and how long Ah Ma has lived here. Nick says Ah Ma has lived here since she was a child, and Peik Lin is desperate to ask who Nick’s grandmother is. But she leaves without asking. Rachel is obviously anxious, but Nick explains that Ah Ma is throwing a “small party” because her tan hua flowers are blooming. The rare flowers only bloom once per decade. He assures Rachel she’s not underdressed and escorts her into the house. There, he coaches her through rinsing her fingers in a bowl of rosewater, though it’s hard for Rachel not to get distracted by the intricate mosaic tile floor.
Peik Lin is digging for any clues as to who Nick’s family is, but it’s not clear if Nick is purposefully not being forthcoming with her. Note that like Astrid, Nick describes the night’s festivities as a “small party,” even though it already seems like anything but. However, it also makes sense that this party would be “small” if Astrid’s “private” wedding was 300 people. When it comes to events, at least, Astrid and Nick operate on a totally different scale than other people. Further, both Nick and Astrid seem totally oblivious to how huge and overwhelming such a party might be for people like Michael and Rachel, who aren’t used to such events.
Themes
Nick steers Rachel toward the stairs, where an enormous stuffed tiger, posed in a pounce, frightens her. He shares that his great-grandfather supposedly shot it, and it used to frighten him too—he lived in this house until he was seven. Rachel insists this is a palace, not a house, as Nick leads her to the living room. But Rachel is again shocked—the room they enter isn’t really a living room. It runs the length of the house, with many seating areas, views of the grounds, and a man playing the grand piano for the guests. The furniture is teak and leather, and the walls are filigreed with silver and lapis lazuli. Rachel is afraid to touch anything, but the guests all seem at home.
The tiger continues to develop Tyersall Park’s symbolism: installed here in the entryway, it sends a pretty menacing message to guests that the house and its owners are extremely powerful and are not to be messed with. Rachel picks up on this immediately; Nick, however, is used to the tiger and, it seems, no longer understands how intimidating his family and their lifestyle are. Keep in mind how afraid and overwhelmed Rachel is as she takes in Tyersall Park for the first time—going forward, others will read her behavior differently.
Themes
Nick’s aunt Felicity approaches first, looking like a stereotypical Chinese matron. After curtly nodding at Rachel, Felicity hurries off to greet a woman in a stunning sari—Nick explains she has her saris flown to New Delhi for special cleaning. Next, Rachel meets Uncle Dickie and Auntie Nancy and has to awkwardly explain that her family isn’t from Taipei; her mom is from Guangdong and now lives in California. It’s again awkward when Nancy asks if Rachel knows her good friend Ann Getty, whom Rachel has to confirm is from the Getty Oil family. Rachel’s reaction shocks Nancy. Rachel meets many more of Nick’s relatives and important people, and then Nick introduces Rachel to a stately older woman whom Rachel mistakes for Ah Ma, but who is actually Great-aunt Rosemary.
Again, clothing signifies a person’s wealth and status: the woman whose saris fly to New Delhi to be specially cleaned reads as wildly wealthy, as it’s certainly not cheap to pay for this service. Dickie and Nancy greet Rachel expecting her to be wealthy and in the know about the rich and famous. However, while Ann Getty is a friend to Nancy, to Rachel, the Gettys are just a huge name in oil and have a museum (the Getty) in Los Angeles—they’re more a symbol of wealth than they are real people. This drives home her middle-class status.
Themes
Next, Nick leads Rachel to meet Ah Ma, a shrunken yet beautiful woman with two beautiful women standing behind her. Ah Ma thanks Rachel for coming and then turns away. Rachel is embarrassed and then shocked when Nick says the women behind Ah Ma are her ladies’ maids; the King of Thailand gifted Ah Ma a constant string of specially-trained Thai women to wait on her. Rachel is overwhelmed, but she’s thrilled when Astrid and Cassian appear behind her. Just then, a woman plays a xylophone by the stairs, signaling the start of dinner. Nick hugs the woman, whom he introduces as Ling Cheh, the woman who raised him. In Cantonese, which Astrid translates for Rachel, Ling Cheh teases Nick about marrying Rachel.
It’s disconcerting for Rachel when Ah Ma greets and then dismisses her so curtly. It also seems totally beyond Rachel’s understanding that Ah Ma would have ladies’ maids, as such a thing feels like it’s right out of a period movie. It’s not just more traditional Chinese culture that’s tripping Rachel up: it’s the culture specific to these wealthy Singaporeans in Nick’s family. Ling Cheh, on the other hand, is far more welcoming and seems to see no issue with Rachel—which may be due to her status as an employee.
Themes
Get the entire Crazy Rich Asians LitChart as a printable PDF.
Nick leaves Rachel in the lavish dining room while he goes to go put Cassian to bed. Rachel helps herself to food from one of the many dishes on the buffet and another of Nick’s cousins, Oliver T’sien, appears behind her and introduces himself. He knows already where Rachel is from, and he notes that “the whispering gallery” is already talking about her. Oliver leads Rachel to start their own table, ignoring Dickie and Nancy’s attempts to call Rachel over. Cryptically, Oliver says his aunt and uncle are here to “spy for the opposition”—that is, the “team” that’s against Rachel. He also notes that they haven’t historically been very nice to him.
Oliver provides some comic relief with his playful veiled commentary, but he’s also the first person thus far to tell Rachel exactly what’s going on—and to confirm that she’s not entirely welcome in Nick’s family. This is both comforting and unsettling for Rachel. It’s comforting because she now understands why, for instance, Nancy and Dickie were so shocked by her not knowing the Gettys personally. But it’s unsettling because Rachel came for a nice vacation, not to get involved in fierce family drama.
Themes
Then, Oliver explains how he’s related to Nick (they’re technically second cousins) and details the Young family tree. There are three branches, the Youngs, the Shangs (who are in England for the summer), and the T’siens. The three branches were “strategically bound together” decades ago, which consolidated and preserved the family fortune. Nick and Astrid join Rachel and Oliver, and Rachel is awed to learn that Astrid’s earrings cost around a half-million dollars. Oliver mentions having seen a man who looked shockingly like Michael walking with a little boy in Hong Kong; Astrid tries not to react. They discuss Oliver’s job as an Asian art and antiquities expert and how unfortunate it is that Ah Ma’s generation went for Art Deco stuff to try to look “modern and sophisticated.” Now, there’s a movement to get all the museum-quality Chinese art that’s currently in Europe back to Asia.
Oliver’s explanation helps Rachel and readers understand better how everyone is related. More importantly, though, he says outright why bringing these three branches together was so important: it preserves the family’s money. This is the first time that anyone in Nick’s family is explicit about seeing family as a means to protect wealth. By extension, then, family is not about supporting people’s personal desires—which helps explain why Eleanor is so upset about Rachel. Oliver also nods to the sometimes fraught relationship between Europe and Asia as he talks about his job. Owning European art used to be how Singaporeans signaled their wealth, but times have changed and it’s now considered acceptable to openly value Asian art.
Themes
