The Leftover Woman

Jasmine’s carved jade hairpin is an heirloom that has been passed down from woman to woman going back many generations. For Jasmine and her forbears, it represents not only family tradition but also security. Women are financially disempowered in her rural, Chinese village, and the hairpin could be sold, if need be, for a hefty sum. The jade hairpin symbolizes Jasmine’s connection to Chinese history and culture—its intricate carving and pomegranate design establish it as an important cultural relic—but also the strength and resilience that Jasmine has learned from the women in past generations of her family. Once she immigrates, she is surrounded by Americans and immersed in American culture. She learns that assimilation is expected of her, and she is encouraged to shed not only her Chinese name but her language and traditions as well. Although she does consider selling the jade hairpin, she decides to keep it. That she is able to hold onto this important family heirloom represents her continued ability to hold onto various aspects of Chinese culture and not lose sight of the way that both culture and family history shape her identity. She keeps the hairpin and then passes it down to her own daughter Fifi. That act of transfer comes to represent the way that Jasmine transmits Chinese cultural values to the daughter who, lost to adoption, comes of age in a white American family. Fifi, too, retains a sense of herself as a Chinese woman. She practices traditional Chinese dance and majors in East Asian Studies and, like her mother, visual art. Although separated from her ancestral Chinese village by adoption and immigration, Fifi remains connected to China and Chinese culture, symbolized by her mother handing the jade hairpin down to her before fleeing.