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MonkeyNotes-The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan
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Chapters 6, 7 & 8
Summary
The void in WeiliÂ’s heart due to the loss of her mother cannot be
filled up with anything else. Winnie stops her narration to tell her
daughter that at least she has a mother to love her and take care
of her whereas she, on the other hand, had been deprived of her
mother and had no one to look up to.
Winnie then continues to relate her stay at the uncleÂ’s house on
Tsungming Island. The village at the mouth of the River is
different in every way from the prosperous city of Shanghai,
where Weili used to stay with her parents. She is ill -treated by
both her aunts and even her uncle is partial towards his own
daughter, who everybody lovingly calls, ‘Peanut.’ Every little
whim of her cousins is satisfied, whereas Weili is forever left
wanting and begging. The Aunt makes it very clear to her, from
the very beginning, that she is a liability. She is the one who has
to do all the odd jobs. She recalls an incident when she had to
embarrass her aunt in front of guests so that her aunt would buy
her a new pair of shoes. Therefore, her position in the house is
even lower, than an outsider. She is constantly reminded that she
should forever be indebted to their family that she is not being
thrown out of the house.
The Chinese New Year is a joyful occasion for everybody in the
house, especially Weili. As per custom, Weili is allowed to go
out on a shopping spree with Peanut and her other two cousins.
Peanut wears gaudy clothes and heavy make-up, which Weili
feels, is almost like a mask, of white coating of face powder and
bright lipstick. Weili is well groomed and is careful not to overdo
it, as she knows that over make-up does not make one beautiful.
The scene at the market place is festive. People have gathered in
their flamboyant dresses. Stalls for eatables, ornaments and
various other articles have been put up. Peanut spends her money
on a fortuneteller who promises her that her husband would be
wealthy and that she would lead a good family life. But Peanut
does not allow Weili to hear what the fortuneteller predicts for
her. She manages to hear that her future life is not so bright, but
is not allowed to spend money to bribe the fortuneteller as Peanut
had done to make her fortune better. Among the crowd, one
person tries to be too friendly with them and the reader learns
that he is Wen Fu. He is not really handsome but is undoubtedly
elegantly dressed. Wen Fu is one of the prominent actors who
perform street plays during the festive season. He plays the role
of the dragon and his comical action make WeiliÂ’s little cousins,
Little Gao and Little Gong, very happy. He also manages to
impress Peanut and Weili. Weili feels that he is being partial to
Peanut and this makes her jealous. At the same time, she also
doubts his manners. The meeting of Peanut and Wen Fu at the
market place, is only the beginning of a series of encounters.
Peanut is absolutely carried away with his charms. His looks and
clever ways also entice her. Weili is reduced to being a mere
carrier of love letters, that is, a bridge between Wen Fu and
Peanut.
Somehow fate has something else in store for Peanut and Weili.
The intrusion of Auntie Miao, a matchmaker, leads to the fixing
up of the marriage between Weili and Wen Fu. For Weili, all
these changes come as a pleasant surprise. She starts building
castles in the air, of having her own home, the much-needed
refuge from her present life as a dependent. She promises to
herself that she will prove to be a loving wife to her husband and
a dutiful daughter-in-law to her in-laws. Peanut had chosen Wen
Fu as her husband. Now that the tables are turned, Peanut is
totally enraged and leaves no occasion to express it. She feels
that Weili has cheated her and openly ill-treats her.
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