Her new station in life: A fantasy of going down the social ladder
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Thursday, September 29, 2016
Maid in China
With Barefoot Servant still working on the next installment of Maid in China, here is a piece of art inspired by the story that one of his friends created. Do I see a comic in the making here?
I thought it was interesting to compare "Maid in China" with "Molly in Singapore". Race is a major angle in both, but they approach it in very different ways. The racial politics of "Maid in China" are both more complex and more explicit. "Maid in China" seems to reflect Western status anxiety about the growing economic power of China.("Annabelle's New Role" also)That's a hot political topic in America today. In "Molly in Singapore", Julia becoming Filipina seemed to be a metaphor for her degradation. Barefoot Servant presents Maddie's servitude in a much more socially realistic manner. Both stories have a strong element of eroticization of the Other. In both,loss of white privilege is eroticized. But in "Maid in China" the Asian characters have agency. The reader gets the feel that each has her own back-story. They aren't there simply to provide a backdrop for a white woman to confront her personal demons."Molly in Singapore" was a more polished story at a superficial level, but I thought that "Maid in China" had a much stronger underlying plot. I'll be eager to see how the saga develops. (Maybe I'm overanalyzing. Maybe I should drink less coffee while reading.)
Very interesting analysis, thank you. To be fair, none of the stories you've mentioned are finished yet so we can't be completely certain where the authors would take us. Love your chracretizations, I can almost see a Ph.D. title in the making: "Racial Politics in Lady-to-Maid Fiction: Erotization of the Other" or "Confronting Personal Demons: Loss of White Privilege and the Rise of China".
PhD in the making, only to be abandoned halfway through after field research began. i wonder what happened to that PhD student who just dropped out and disappeared after a trip to Asia... ;)
Besides that kind of thematic analysis, I could imagine somebody doing a different kind of scholarly paper, an empirical, longitudinal survey of themes in lady-to-maid stories over time, plotted against events in the "real world".
A wonderful drawing! When I 1st read the title I though: Yes! The part 3 is finally here! Even though it is not the case, the drawing is still fantastic.
I'd like to take a second to credit AnirBrokenear for the art. She has done a ton of commissions for me over the last several years (most involving barefoot girls working on chain gangs). You can see more of her work at www.deviantart.com.
Anir does, indeed have a gift for portraying the emotions of the characters in any scene. Note Maddy's bright blush as the ceaseless tinkling of her servant bells echos in her ears, and she furtively glances over to see the girl in the red swimsuit fixing her in a pointed stare.
This story is on another level! The kind of thing I wish I could write, and maybe someday I will get to that level. Thank you for sharing this story: it's really advancing the entire genre for me. I commented on another part of the story, you could read my thoughts more in depth.
But know that this is one of the best stories I've read and I am so thankful for the opportunity to read it!!
For those of you who have enjoyed this story thus far, I just wanted to give you a quick update. I actually founds some time to write today. I am hopeful that-- by the end of the weekend-- I'll have a sufficient amount to share as a new chapter.
I thought it was interesting to compare "Maid in China" with "Molly in Singapore". Race is a major angle in both, but they approach it in very different ways. The racial politics of "Maid in China" are both more complex and more explicit. "Maid in China" seems to reflect Western status anxiety about the growing economic power of China.("Annabelle's New Role" also)That's a hot political topic in America today. In "Molly in Singapore", Julia becoming Filipina seemed to be a metaphor for her degradation. Barefoot Servant presents Maddie's servitude in a much more socially realistic manner. Both stories have a strong element of eroticization of the Other. In both,loss of white privilege is eroticized. But in "Maid in China" the Asian characters have agency. The reader gets the feel that each has her own back-story. They aren't there simply to provide a backdrop for a white woman to confront her personal demons."Molly in Singapore" was a more polished story at a superficial level, but I thought that "Maid in China" had a much stronger underlying plot. I'll be eager to see how the saga develops. (Maybe I'm overanalyzing. Maybe I should drink less coffee while reading.)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting analysis, thank you. To be fair, none of the stories you've mentioned are finished yet so we can't be completely certain where the authors would take us. Love your chracretizations, I can almost see a Ph.D. title in the making: "Racial Politics in Lady-to-Maid Fiction: Erotization of the Other" or "Confronting Personal Demons: Loss of White Privilege and the Rise of China".
DeletePhD in the making, only to be abandoned halfway through after field research began. i wonder what happened to that PhD student who just dropped out and disappeared after a trip to Asia... ;)
DeleteBesides that kind of thematic analysis, I could imagine somebody doing a different kind of scholarly paper, an empirical, longitudinal survey of themes in lady-to-maid stories over time, plotted against events in the "real world".
DeleteThank you for the kind words regarding my story.
DeleteA wonderful drawing!
ReplyDeleteWhen I 1st read the title I though: Yes! The part 3 is finally here!
Even though it is not the case, the drawing is still fantastic.
Eventually, someone is going to begin research on a dissertation on female academics who begin cultural studies and then abandon them....
ReplyDeleteHehe indeed. I sense a story plot here somewhere!
DeleteMaids...without aprons???
ReplyDeleteIs that how BFS wrote the uniforms?
You know, I don't think I ever explicitly stated that the uniforms included an apron, just that they are dark blue and white.
DeleteI think, in my head, they consist of a dark blue skirt, a white shirt, and a dark blue apron.
The beauty of fiction is, though, that they can look however you imagine them to.
I'd like to take a second to credit AnirBrokenear for the art. She has done a ton of commissions for me over the last several years (most involving barefoot girls working on chain gangs). You can see more of her work at www.deviantart.com.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that information! I'll make sure to check deviant right away!
DeleteP.S.
Any tease as to when you might share your 3rd part?
Pleeeasee :D
Anir does, indeed have a gift for portraying the emotions of the characters in any scene. Note Maddy's bright blush as the ceaseless tinkling of her servant bells echos in her ears, and she furtively glances over to see the girl in the red swimsuit fixing her in a pointed stare.
ReplyDeleteThis story is on another level! The kind of thing I wish I could write, and maybe someday I will get to that level. Thank you for sharing this story: it's really advancing the entire genre for me. I commented on another part of the story, you could read my thoughts more in depth.
ReplyDeleteBut know that this is one of the best stories I've read and I am so thankful for the opportunity to read it!!
For those of you who have enjoyed this story thus far, I just wanted to give you a quick update. I actually founds some time to write today. I am hopeful that-- by the end of the weekend-- I'll have a sufficient amount to share as a new chapter.
ReplyDeleteJust the information that you are still writing it and haven't abandonded the project is outstanding news!
Delete