rivel? You know that a girl cant support herself. His voice was rising.Besides, it would give me a terribly bad name. (Wall Bingham & Hill Gross, page20)A father during the pre-cultural revolution has the same feeling as Spring Moons grandmother. Bette Bao Lord writes:The family was scandalized of course.Too much learning for a girl is dangerous and spoils her chances for a good marriage. Educated ones are malcontents who disturb the virtues of the household. (Lord, page79)The family of a girl during this time feared that she would not be able to marry if she were educated. Again, these fears are shown by evidence of real people of this time and through the words of a 20th century novelist.However after the Cultural Revolution, ideas about educating woman changed and fears were subsided. Spring Moon; an educated woman herself, got married to a man who respected her and her intellect. Their daughter, Lustrous Jade, was educated also.In the six years since than, she [Lustrous Jade] had learned quickly the harsh dialect of the Hunan and had thrived as a circuit teacher-organizer (Lord, page485)Real Chinese women, just like the fictitious Lustrous Jade in Spring Moon, also were educated and had their own jobs.woman were educated as well as men in the ninetieth century, woman began to do all sorts of things. they became doctors and nurses, teachers and scientists, and went into business and government. (Seeger, pages 343&360)The fears of Chinese families had finally diminished. Woman real and fictional, were educated, had professions and a husband with a family. The historical data and fictitious characters in Spring Moon have been woven together to produce more realistic thoughts about educating women, pre and post revolution.Works CitedLord, Bette Bao. Spring Moon. New York, New York:Harper Collins Publishers, 1981Seeger, Elizabeth. Pageants of Chinese History. New York:David McKay Co. Inc., 1962Wall Bingham, Marjory & Hi...
