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
As wedding guests move toward the reception area, even unimpressed Victoria is unable to speak: the lawn is “an atomic explosion of flowers,” with flower sculptures and a huge champagne fountain. Cassandra joins Rachel and Oliver in staring at a tower of roses and notes that because Annabel purchased so many roses, the worldwide price for the flower spiked. She asks Oliver how much “these Mainlanders” spent on the wedding and rejects Oliver’s correction that the Lees aren’t really Mainlanders anymore, given that they’ve been in Singapore for decades. She quips that the family is acting like Mainlanders by spending like this. Oliver reveals he’s been keeping a tally of where the money is going, and he’s only counted six million—the ball tonight should be spectacular.
Even Nick’s extremely wealthy family members find the money spent on this wedding absurd. Indeed, it’s ridiculous that one person has enough money to purchase so many roses that it affects the worldwide flower market. Cassandra again associates restraint with old money, while spending wildly (as she believes the Lees have on this wedding) is something only new-money families do. Oliver’s correction offers hope that future generations aren’t going to be as stuffy and class-conscious as Eleanor, Cassandra, and Nick’s other aunties.
Themes
Nick appears with champagne, and Oliver asks what everyone thought of Araminta’s dress. Rachel liked it, but Cassandra quips that it made Araminta look like “some kind of medieval bride.” Oliver insists that was the point. Laughing, Nick says he’s taking Rachel for a moment, and Oliver warns them against “hanky-panky in the bushes.” Cassandra notes that, with Kitty Pong here, Rachel and Nick aren’t worth worrying about.
Cassandra is humorously judgmental of Kitty and is surprisingly accepting of Rachel—at least when Kitty is around to act as Rachel’s foil. This highlights how Nick’s family is willing to focus on different concerns depending on the circumstances. Eleanor’s behavior makes it clear that normally, everyone would take issue with Rachel.
Themes
Kitty, meanwhile, is in heaven. She’s found Singapore disappointing so far, as she and Alistair are stuck in a regular hotel room and his family clearly isn’t as rich as Alistair said they were—Felicity lives in a wooden house with old unpolished Chinese furniture. The wealthy people Kitty knows in China are clearly richer, as they live in huge new mansions decorated by Parisian designers. This wedding reception, though, is perfect. Alistair points out several notable guests and Ah Ma, who’s in a gazebo speaking to the Sultana of Borneo. Noticing the sultana’s diamonds, Kitty drags Alistair to introduce her. Alexandra sends guards to not let “that strumpet” in, but Ah Ma asks who the “jumping girl” is with Alistair. Mischievously, Cassandra says the girl is Alistair’s girlfriend—and Ah Ma says she wants to meet her.
This brief dip into Kitty’s perspective shows readers that she has no grasp of what extreme wealth looks like. She’s attracted to what Cassandra just said is a very Mainland Chinese (that is, newly rich) aesthetic. Mentioning the homes in China also seems to be a nod to Eleanor’s earlier judgment of Lorena’s Shenzhen apartment, which she deemed tasteless. Kitty also doesn’t think about the fact that only a tiny percentage of housing in Singapore is single-family, so simply owning a detached house is a sign of immense wealth. The Leongs’ “old” Chinese furniture are also, no doubt, priceless antiques.
Themes
Alistair introduces Kitty as his fiancée, shocking Ah Ma and embarrassing Alexandra. Kitty briefly greets Ah Ma and then engages the Sultana of Borneo in conversation—and the sultana watches the soap opera Kitty acts in, so she’s happy to talk and even lets Kitty touch her 118-carat diamond brooch. Kitty tells Alistair that he must buy her a diamond like that someday, scandalizing the other women in the gazebo. The sultana asks for Kitty’s autograph, asks Ah Ma to invite her to the wedding, and gives Kitty one of her huge diamond rings as an engagement gift.
The Sultana of Borneo, as an actual royal person, is likely more like Ah Ma (in terms of being from old money) than like Araminta’s family. That is to say, her kindness toward Kitty reads as surprising given her status—she seems totally unperturbed by Kitty’s interest in her diamonds (which is framed as being scandalously inappropriate), and she treats Kitty like a person deserving of respect and kindness.
Themes
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Nick leads Rachel away from the reception and to a colonial-era gatehouse. This, he says, was his childhood hideout, and he had his first kiss here. As he’s about to tell Rachel what he was thinking in the church, a gorgeous girl in the hand-painted silk dress from Patric’s and a white man emerge on the roof. Shocked, Nick calls the girl Mandy, and she calls him Nico. Nick introduces Rachel, and Mandy tells the white man, her boyfriend, that this is where she had her first kiss—with Nick. Mandy shares that she lives in New York and has heard a lot about Rachel, and she’s offended Nick has told Rachel nothing about her. She then points out where her and “Nico’s” names are carved into the stone next to an infinity symbol.
Whatever Mandy said to her mom (Jacqueline Ling) about not wanting to be here and not caring about Nick, she still seems more than willing to try to stir up any doubts Rachel might have about Nick. Why exactly she uses a nickname for Nick is a mystery for now, but in any case, it connotes that she has a history with Nick—one that Rachel knows nothing about. This is designed to make Rachel feel unmoored and as though she doesn’t know who Nick really is. Nick’s failure to prep Rachel may continue to cause problems.
Themes
