Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Lily says that girls in her county have their feet bound starting at age six. Lily is still outside running, but Mama has already begun making bindings and shoes. She also creates a pair of miniature shoes to place on the altar of Guanyin as an offering. These miniature shoes are the first clue for Lily that Mama might care for her.

When Lily and Beautiful Moon turn six, Mama and Aunt send for Diviner Hu to select an auspicious date to begin their foot binding. Lily is scared, as she's heard the screams of other girls undergoing the process. The diviner asks to see Lily in person, which is an unusual request, and he inspects her and deems her "no ordinary child." He suggests they consult with a matchmaker (a woman who arranges marriages), and Mama doesn't even ask Baba's permission to spend the money.

The next day, the women rise early to make special tea and cakes. When Diviner Hu arrives, he has Madame Wang with him from Tongkou, rather than the local matchmaker. Lily says that the situation must be dire since Lily's family isn't expecting to see a matchmaker for several years, and then only for their older children.

Madame Wang settles herself and then asks to see Lily. Lily studies her family members' faces, all of which are worried and anxious. Mama's face, however, shows lurking "male ambition." Lily stands in front of Madame Wang, who inspects her thoroughly. Madame Wang stands and instructs Lily to sit, which Lily knows would be a very rude thing to do. When Lily hesitates, Madame Wang picks her up and sits her down, and then takes off Lily's shoes to inspect her feet.

When Madame Wang reclaims her seat, Diviner Hu says that Lily's feet are underdeveloped, and so Mama needs to wait a year to begin binding them. He continues, saying that Lily's entire body is underdeveloped, as are many girls in the village, but her feet in particular have high arches and if things are done well, her feet could be perfect. Madame Wang adds that if Lily's feet are bound perfectly, she could marry into Tongkou, the best town in the county, and further, Lily may be eligible for a laotong relationship. Everyone is aghast, and Madame Wang and Diviner Hu leave.

Lily and Mama go upstairs. Mama slaps Lily across the face, and tells her that all this will bring Baba trouble. Lily knows that the slap is good luck and meant to scare away bad spirits, as nothing can guarantee perfectly bound feet, and the slap is further indicative of Mama's “mother love.” Lily tells the reader that while she doesn't know if her family decided her fate that day, her life changed. She and Beautiful Moon have their feet bound the following year with Third Sister. Mama beats Lily regularly, and Baba never looks at her the same way, since now she is possibly useful. Madame Wang visits periodically over the following year, but only views Lily as a means to profit.

Lily and Beautiful Moon's education in "house learning" begins in earnest. Lily shares that she would spend her entire life in an upstairs chamber, as dictated by Confucian society. She would be expected to obey her father, her husband, and then her son, as well as follow the Four Virtues that delineate proper behavior for women. She begins learning to sew, starts making shoes to wear during her foot binding, and Aunt starts teaching her nu shu. Lily explains the basic ideas of nu shu: it's phonetic, meaning that one must take care not to misinterpret meaning; it can be used to write letters, prayers, and autobiographies; it can be embroidered or woven; and it can be sung. Most importantly, men can never know of it or touch it.

When Lily turns seven, Diviner Hu returns to find a date for her, Beautiful Moon, and Third Sister to begin their binding. He settles on the typical date, which is in the fall. Mama and Aunt make bandages and feed the girls soft foods to encourage their bones to be soft. The girls are congratulated on entering womanhood. Lily knows that foot binding will make her more marriageable, which will allow her to achieve the goal of having a son.

On the morning the binding is to begin, Lily, Beautiful Moon, and Third Sister offer the Tiny-Footed Maiden rice balls, and Mama and Aunt offer their miniature shoes to a statue of Guanyin. They gather their supplies, and Lily goes first. Mama washes Lily's feet, rubs them with alum, cuts her toenails, and begins wrapping wet bandages around her feet to pull her toes under her foot. Aunt wraps Beautiful Moon's feet and then it's Third Sister's turn, but she's nowhere to be found. Lily's feet ache as she listens to Mama and Aunt drag Third Sister out of a neighbor's house and berate her. When they return to the women's chamber, Aunt, Grandmother, and Elder Sister hold Third Sister down while Mama wraps her feet. Third Sister screams the entire time.

When the wrapping is finished, Mama and Aunt instruct the girls to get up. Lily's feet are throbbing, but Mama yanks her up and tells her to walk. Mama, Elder Sister, and Aunt lead Lily, Beautiful Moon, and Third Sister back and forth across the room on their folded toes. After ten round trips, they're left alone. The pain is unimaginable, and Elder Sister does her best to comfort the girls.

Lily, Beautiful Moon, and Third Sister are made to walk again the next day, and the day after. Every fourth day, Mama and Aunt soak off the bandages and rewrap them tighter than before. As the weather gets colder, Grandmother stops walking with the girls and only sits and watches them.

One day while Lily is walking, she hears the crack of one of her toes breaking. Mama sharply instructs her to keep moving through the excruciating pain. When Mama rewraps Lily's feet a few days later, she tells Lily that she will have only have beauty through this pain and suffering, and that a lady lets no ugliness into her life. Beautiful Moon's toes break a few days later, but Third Sister's toes won't break despite extra efforts. When the girls' bandages are next removed, the blood and pus from Third Sister's feet are different, and her skin is bright red.

When it begins to snow outside, the bones in Lily's mid-foot break. Third Sister becomes feverish, and one day when Mama and Aunt are downstairs, Elder Sister allows Third Sister to lie down. When Elder Sister pulls up Third Sister's pant leg to massage her legs, she sees red streaks running the length of her calves. Elder Sister fetches Mama and Aunt, who begin boiling water after taking in the scene. Mama unwraps Third Sister's bindings to expose rotting flesh, and the stench makes them gag. Mama and Aunt decide to continue to bandage Third Sister's feet, though, because if they halt the binding process she'll be crippled and unmarriageable.

Baba fetches the doctor the next day, but the doctor is unable to help. The doctor also notices that Grandmother is very ill. Mama, as the first daughter-in-law, is tasked with caring for her, while Beautiful Moon and Lily care for Third Sister. As young girls they don't know the words to comfort her, and she dies in a terrible amount of pain. Grandmother dies the next day.

As the ground is too hard to dig graves, Grandmother and Third Sister's bodies spend the winter under the snow. The women's chamber becomes even more disciplined as Beautiful Moon and Lily make sure to not resist, and Mama, Aunt, and Elder Sister vigilantly watch for infection. Lily tells the reader that she heard many sayings during those months and didn't understand their meaning, understanding only that her foot size will determine her worth—it will be an indicator of her ability to endure pain and misfortune, and to behave obediently. She shares too that while she didn't know it then, her feet would later be a source of fascination for Lily’s husband, even when the rest of her body was no longer enticing.