Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: Daughter Days: Learning Summary & Analysis

For the next three years, Snow Flower visits Lily's family every few months. Lily never questions why she never visits Snow Flower in Tongkou, until she's nine and overhears Mama ask Madame Wang about it. Madame Wang states that Snow Flower's family is suffering from Lily's low status, and if Lily were to visit Tongkou, her future husband might see her. Lily understands that Mama is ashamed, but thinks that she's not disturbed by finding out that Snow Flower's family feels Lily is unworthy, because she knows she's unworthy. As such, she works harder to make Snow Flower love her.

The matter is far from over, however, as Lily's laotong relationship means that the existing rivalry between Madame Wang and Madame Gao is heightened. Madame Gao offers her services to Snow Flower's family to slight Madame Wang and get revenge for Madame Wang "stealing" her business (in the form of Lily and Beautiful Moon). At one point when Madame Wang comes to Lily's house to pick up Snow Flower, Madame Gao is also visiting and the two quarrel in front of Snow Flower and Lily.

When Snow Flower, Beautiful Moon, and Lily turn 11, their feet are healed. Lily's are smallest, Snow Flower's are slightly larger, and Beautiful Moon's are even bigger—but she's still marriageable. Madame Wang negotiates Contracting a Kin for the three girls. Lily is set to marry into the best family in Tongkou, where her husband is expected to be the future family headman. Beautiful Moon will marry into a Tongkou family of the same clan. Snow Flower's husband's family is in nearby Jintian. Madame Wang promises that Lily and Beautiful Moon will be able to see Jintian from their lattice windows, but says little else about Snow Flower's future family except that her husband was born in the year of the rooster. The girls find this disturbing, as a rooster and a horse aren't an ideal match.

Lily's family exchanges the first round of gifts with their future in-laws. Lily and Beautiful Moon are happy and optimistic, and continue to learn nu shu from Aunt and Snow Flower. Aunt impresses upon them that each word must be placed in context, and that tragedy can come from a wrong reading.

Aunt tells the girls the story of how nu shu was invented. A thousand years ago, a young and educated woman from Jintian was selected to be a concubine in the Emperor's court. While she was guaranteed a life of comforts, she was still sad about leaving her family. At the court, she couldn't keep the emperor entertained forever, and her talents were insignificant next to those of the other ladies. The woman silently practiced her writing as others snidely called it sloppy, but she wasn't trying to copy men's writing—she was inventing a secret code to write home with.

Aunt explains how the woman's sisters may have figured out how to read the note, but says dwelling on the "how" is not a woman's concern. What matters is that nu shu exists for women to share the less-than-happy things that happen under the happy surface in life. She reminds the girls that all girls marry out, but nu shu exists to help them keep ties with their natal families. Aunt repeats the story the next day.

When Snow Flower, Lily, and Beautiful Moon turn 13, their education picks up speed. Snow Flower's family had neglected to teach her domestic arts, so she shadows Lily in her chores. Mama and Aunt supervise the girls as they cook, clean, and sew. Lily thinks that Snow Flower will have servants one day and doesn't necessarily need to learn these tasks, but sees too that Snow Flower seems to float apart from life's practicalities.

The girls learn from Uncle and Baba too, as Snow Flower takes note of what foods they like and makes sure to serve those foods. Lily sees that when Snow Flower pays them these attentions, the men use better manners and talk to the women.

Snow Flower also tells Lily and Beautiful Moon about their future families. Lily's husband is kind and born in the year of the tiger, and his house is busy with lots of visitors. However, Master Lu (his father) has three concubines despite also having sons from his wife. Lily tells the reader that she should've been more worried at that, as a son is likely to take concubines if his father did.

Snow Flower tells Beautiful Moon that she and her husband will also be a perfect match, and that her mother-in-law is kind—she visits Snow Flower's mother daily. Snow Flower's eyes suddenly fill with tears when she says this, and Lily and Beautiful Moon giggle uncomfortably. Snow Flower quickly recovers and then says that Lily's mother-in-law is traditional, and that Lily will have servants and be respected as the first daughter-in-law.

Lily and Snow Flower have now been to the Temple of Gupo five times. Each time they make offerings at the temple, purchase embroidery thread and paper, and eat at Old Man Zou's stall. They learn from these trips that while they will generally see no more than what they can from their upstairs windows, men have a great deal of freedom to travel along their country's many waterways.

Madame Gao and Madame Wang frequently visit Lily's family, and the battle between the two escalates. One day, Madame Gao complains that local families aren't paying her on time. She continues that a peasant uprising is making things difficult, as commerce is stalled and families don't have money for dowries. She says that even Snow Flower isn't safe. Though Madame Wang tries to defend Snow Flower's father, Madame Gao says that a weak man will take to the pipe. At that, Mama sharply tells Madame Gao that she may not speak that way in front of the children, and hastily shows her out.

Madame Wang is silent for a moment and then calls Lily to her, and tells her that she may never repeat what she just heard to Snow Flower. Lily promises, but tells the reader that she didn't understand what she heard anyway. She tells the reader too that from then on, Madame Gao conducted business with Lily's family outside on stools, which Lily attributes to her family's love for Snow Flower.

As Elder Sister's wedding approaches, the last round of gifts is delivered to Lily's family and Elder Sister's sworn sisters come for the Sitting and Singing, which lasts 28 days. They work on third-day wedding books (books to tell Elder Sister's new family about her) and help finish Elder Sister's dowry items.

On the day of Sorrow and Worry, three days before Elder Sister leaves home, Mama sits on the stairs and begins a lament at letting Elder Sister go. The women sing of their sadness at losing their sister. Snow Flower reads the couplet that she and Lily wrote on their fan to commemorate the occasion.

When Elder Sister's new family arrives the next day, Lily's family throws bamboo and water on them for good luck. Her dowry is displayed and the next day, Elder Sister walks out to chants of "marrying a daughter is just like throwing out water." She goes to her new family in a palanquin. Four days later, Elder Brother picks up Elder Sister and brings her back home, as she'll only visit her husband monthly until the end of her first pregnancy.

Lily says that she remembers best the day that Elder Sister returned from a visit the following spring. Elder Sister cried in Mama's lap about her abusive mother-in-law and her rough husband. Lily and Beautiful Moon comfort her, but believe this could never happen to them. Aunt begins to speak, and says that she's lived a miserable life—she cried when she married out, and then couldn't have sons. She finishes her speech by saying that this is how it is for women. Such a thing has never been spoken in the women's chamber before, and Lily considers how hard life must have been for Aunt despite her regular smiles and good cheer.

Mama speaks in a detached voice. She echoes Elder Sister's complaints, but says that as women they're powerless to resist. She recites the old saying, "if a daughter doesn't marry out, she's not valuable; if fire doesn't raze the mountain, the land will not be fertile."