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I admit that my first impression of Katherine Watson and Wang Tsai-ling (who are respective heroines of Mona Lisa’ smile and And the Spring Comes) is that they have something in common.

Both of them are leftover women. They have their own gifts. Katherine is good at Art and Wang has a beautiful voice. They all feel not right to the ordinary life and want to make a difference. So Katherine chooses to teach the history of Art in the most conservative college in the nation and Wang dreams to be the main soprano with the National Opera Company.

Nevertheless, it’s no doubt that Katherine and Wang are quite different. Their personal developments have diametrically opposed endings.

I think the differences mainly focus on their choices when faced with difficulties and their attitudes towards life. Katherine is more enthusiastic and positive. She challenges the tradition and encourages the equality between men and women in the college where students believe having a good marriage is the most important thing in their life. Apparently, Katherine has a great influence on her students. Because of Katherine’s spirit, Betty, one of her students, gets rid of an unhappy marriage and tries to be a free and independent woman. But Wang is not the same as Katherine. Wang tries a lot, while things don’t work out the way. She can’t get a residence permit. Of course, she will not be the main soprano, either. At last, she gives up and adopts an orphan. Wang names the orphan Wang Xiaofan which means ordinary. Wang finally has an ordinary life, reconciling to her fate. With a similar starting line, Katherine and Wang reach diverse terminals.

So, why Katherine’s and Wang’s personal developments are so different?

I believe the culture is an important factor. Western culture tends to be more positive and more active, where new ideas can be accepted and spread out quickly. So, on the one hand, for Katherine, she grows into a open-minded woman. On the other hand, it’s more possible for Katherine’ new thoughts to be effectively taken in by others. By contrast, Chinese culture is relatively passive and introverted. Chinese are not keen on expressing their thoughts and ideas. At the same time, the speed of accepting new thoughts in China is slower than that of westerners. So, if something new shows up or something is different from the majority, people’s first reaction at that time is to comment on it and even to protest it. As a result, people may give in. It’s no wonder why Wang turns to live an ordinary life in the end.

Further more, social background has a great influence on them. What Katherine faces with is that the Second World War ends and the women empowerment is rising up. In the 1950s, though the American upper class are relatively conservative and insist on feudal thoughts including ‘A good marriage is the measure of a successful woman’, the social atmosphere turns to be free and open and the educated pay more attention to the women. Giselle, Connie, Joan, Betty and so on, the representative students of Katherine’s, are educated and open enough to follow Katherine. Nevertheless, Wang’s story happens in China in 1980s. Though the Culture Revolution ends at that time, the social mobility is still traditional and conservative, influenced. For example, now Chinese make indiscreet remarks and criticisms on Hu Jinquan who is a coryphée and consider him as a freak because he is a man and no man will dance a ballet. As a result, Hu goes into jail by ‘hurting’ a woman, desperate, and he thinks the jail is better than the world outside. How ridiculous the world is! Afterwards, Gao Beibei cheats Wang for fame. All these things make Wang feel sad and disappointed at the world so she quits her dream absolutely. (By the way, the situation is quite different in China nowadays. If you dance a ballet on the street, people will stop steps absolutely and give you a hot applause. China is more open now. )

Last but not least, their attitudes and characters play an important role. Obviously, Katherine is energetic, enthusiastic and idealistic. In front of the challenges from students in the first class, Katherine feels embarrassed but she doesn't give up. She changes the way of teaching, encourages students to make their dreams come true and influences them by osmosis. Step by step, Katherine changes their traditional thoughts and they nicknamed her “Mona Lisa” respectfully. That is, Katherine achieves her goal. Nevertheless, Wang always pretends she is the main soprano. In fact, it shows that Wang is high-hearted and over self-respect. What's more, she is vulnerable and sensitive. When Huang Sibao rejects her, she chooses to commit suicide. When rejected by the National Opera Company, she cries sadly. Experiencing so many frustrations and nothing left, she finally loses the hope and her dream fades gradually.

I can’t say who is better, because I think the choices they make are under different pressure. But I am sure that, with the different cultures, societies and personalities, the opportunities for their personal developments are different.

Hi Wanyi!

I really like how you pointed out how the cultures of both movies contribute heavily to the actions of both of the women's characters because I totally agree but this wasn't something I had thought about before! Your transitions between paragraphs also really allowed it to be organized and flow nicely (: I identified this as your main focus and I think you explained it really well. I wanted to know more about your position on these differences! In the end, you said you can't say who is better and I definitely understand that, but I still wanted to hear what your opinion was on the differences between the women and why they were! For example, do you think it is fair that these differences contributed to their personal development in different ways? Why or why not? I think that adding your opinion would be the biggest revision you have to make! Also, I would consider defining what "leftover women" means because I was unsure. Your language and grammar were great, just in the first sentence change "have" to "had".

Hi Mikaela!

I’m so glad to get your comments and agreements! Well, at first, I want to explain the meaning of “leftover women” (also called “leftover ladies”) because I think it’s a really interesting phenomenon in China. It means “剩女”( Sheng nu / Shèng nǚ)in Chinese. “剩” means “being left”. If a girl has not got married or even not had a boyfriend now when she is in her late twenties or beyond, she will be called “leftover woman”, because the majority of Chinese think she is “left”, “abandoned” and “lonely”. But there is a saying that if the one ever appeared, anyone else would just be a compromise. Maybe sometimes she just doesn’t want to compromise, right? In fact, I feel it strange why we don’t have “leftover men”. Why is the man in the same situation called “Eligible bachelor” instead of “Leftover man”? Wasn’t a man left when he is still single in his late twenties or beyond?
Well, secondly, I don’t think it is fair that these differences contributed to their personal development in different ways, because as you can see, what Katherine faces is more positive. The women empowerment is rising up; her students are willing to pursue their own values; the majority of social perception is tending to be open and reform their traditional thoughts of women. But I think Ms. Wang is less fortunate. What she faces is that the development of China is becalmed at that time and quite a few prejudices. The becalmed society can’t offer her more chances to stay in Beijing and to be admitted to the National Opera Company. (I’m not sure if you still remember that in the film, the manager says “Even our own actors have not had a chance to act…Now all the literature parties are with recession…”so she refuses to admit Ms. Wang. And when Ms. Wang wants to be a part-time worker there as long as she can be in the school, the person in charge says “We are completely full…” and asks Ms. Wang if she has a residence permit. When the person gets a negative answer, she says “Then it’s even more impossible.”) What’s more, because of her ugly appearance, Sibao rejects her. She can be the friend of Mrs. Zhang because she is worse off in Mrs. Zhang’s mind. As you can see, what great prejudices! So, Ms. Wang has no more opportunity to pursue her dream. Sometimes, I believe if Ms. Wang lives in China of this age, she will make her dream come true and make a difference just like Katherine, because China has changed and developed a lot and becomes more open nowadays. What do you think about it? (: I hadn’t thought more about my own position on these differences before you asked me. Thank you for reminding me! I will try to make it better.
Well, at last, I have a little problem. You have mentioned that I need change “have” in the first sentence into “had”. But in my mind, “have” coordinates the article. So could you mind telling me more details about it? I will appreciate it a lot!

Wanyi,
Thank you so much for explaining to me what "leftover woman" means. I would encourage you to explain this in your essay because I know it is something that American students have most likely never heard of so I think it would be interesting for them to know more about this part of Chinese culture. I also definitely agree with what you said about why is there no "leftover man?" In America, I think the explanation for this would be because we are a male-dominated culture if that makes sense! Would you say the same for China? I'm interested to hear more!
I was also so excited to see your opinions (be sure to include them in your updated paper)! Maybe even add something about how Ms. Wang's story would be different because China has changed a lot since then! I would love to hear more about this! As for my opinion, I think that any opportunity to showcase women's empowerment is great so I was excited to get to watch these movies. Like you said about China having changed a lot since this movie was filmed, I think America has a lot as well. I don't think it would be as common anymore to see a situation like Katherine's where women are more interested in becoming wives than having their own careers because women nowadays are focused a lot on proving themselves in work fields as being equivalent or more qualified than men.
After re-reading your first sentence and this comment, I now realize that you could use either had or have! Sorry about this mistake!
Looking forward to hearing back from you soon and reading your final essay that tells me more about your opinion on the topic and how China is different today!

Mikaela,

I am so sorry that I write back to you so late because your questions were really great and I need more time to think about it. Now, I think I have ideas. I think the reason why we don’t have “leftover men” is the same as what you said. It’s no doubt that China is also a male-dominated culture. From Xia Dynasty, China has been in the patriarchal society for thousands of years, which tends to look up to men and down on women. In the old days, women needed obey the rules of the three obediences which meant a woman was required to obey her father before marriage, and her husband during married life and her sons in widowhood and the four virtues( fidelity, physical charm, propriety in speech and efficiency in needle work). Also, have you ever heard that women in the old days needed to bind the feet? All of these showed the inequality between men and women. Even in the 1980s when Ms. Wang lived in, the value of women was neglected in a way. So even though nowadays we encourage men and women are equal and Chinese women have more and more rights, the position of men is a little higher than that of women because of the remain of traditional perception and women’s weakness in both physiology and psychology. So, from the analysis above, it’s no wonder why we don’ have “leftover men”.
Well, you mentioned that you wondered how different Ms. Wang would be if she lived in China nowadays. I think maybe Ms. Wang will have a chance to be the main soprano realizing her dream well. As the Chinese economy develops, there won’t be the situation that Ms. Wang needs a resident permit in order to stay in Beijing and find a way to realize her dreams any longer. There are many opportunities which are relatively fair for people. For example, if Mr. Wang wants, she can even make a video of singing a song and upload it in Weibo and other social platforms. Nowadays, more and more young people show their gifts on the internet. (: But personally speaking, I think this way will hazard our health in a way because many people have lost in it and become phubbers which means “低头族” in Chinese and “smartphone addicts” in English. Anyway, I think it is a convenient way for Ms. Wang to realize her dream.
Most importantly, China is becoming more and more open. Most Chinese have changed conservative thoughts and encouraged everyone who has his or her talents and dreams to pursue what they want. I think people will admire Ms. Wang’s beautiful voice and fancy talent whether she is beautiful or not. And at this age of China, if a man dances a ballet well in the street like Hu Jinquan, the passers-by will stop and clap for him generously because we cherish everyone who has a dream and pursue it.
Last but not least, nowadays Chinese women are not merely dependent on their husbands. They can support themselves, have their own ideas and deal with many things well. I think they are a little similar to Katherine and the women you described to me. By the way, could you tell me more about what American women are like? I’m really interested in it!
Looking forward to your reply!

Hi Wanyi!

I was so excited to read your reply on what women are like in China nowadays and how much progression has been made toward accepting everyone's dreams and talents!
As for women in America, they have certainly made a lot of progress in the previous years and it is rare to see women like the students in "Mona Lisa's Smile" that want to become only wives and mothers. Women in today's society show empowerment by having jobs that used to be typical for only males to have. However, there is still a lot of progress to be made in my opinion because a lot of people still don't believe that women can do everything that a man can or that they can't do it as well as a man can!
Be sure to include an explanation of what a "leftover woman" means in your revised paper because I think it would really add a lot to it! Let me know if you have any specific other questions about American women!

Hi Wanyi

Sorry about the lack of responding your essay due to a little bit of technology error I have met with this system earlier.

I'm really pleased with the way how you narrow down your essay with the leading sentence in front of each body paragraph to show your central idea of it. In your essay, you mentioned that western culture tends to be more positive but Chinese people would tend to be more negative about their life. To be honest, I agree with you a lot, but I would not refer that to the reason of Cailing to give up her original goal. In my opinion, Cailing's giving up does nor from the negative attitude, instead, she was trying during the whole first part of the movie, she was confident and she has been positive with her getting into Beijing during the first half of the movie. In the relationship between Cailing and Sibao, we could be able to tell she was holding a positive attitude to get the residence permit of Beijing. In my opinion, the reason for her giving up is because of the lack of supporting and her professional skills. The subjective disadvantage limited her to be a teacher in a small city, and her position limited her audience. In that 1980s' Chinese industrial city, it is not surprised that people would not be able to appreciate the western art, and that was the reason why the dance teacher Hu could comprehend her feeling. After everything she experienced in her life, Cailing had a negative attitude to her dream so that she could not hide behind the fake positive anymore, in a Chinses word her effort just "如决堤之坝。” Do you think this is a more fair expression to here development? Besides, you state you could not tell who is better so could you please explain way through and what are the kindest personality for them?

Hi, Mikaela!

Thank you so much for your reply and suggestions and I’m sure I will include the explanation of “leftover women” and my opinions on the topic into my revised paper. Also, please let me know if you have any other advice for my essay.
Well, according to your explanation, I know more about women in America now. It’s really interesting! And factually, a few days ago, I watched Desperate Housewife which characterized four distinctive women in America well and I’m curious about which character of it you will choose to describe women in America. That is, I wonder which one do you think is the most similar to women in America. (: For me, I think Lynette who chooses job instead of family is the most similar one. Am I right or do you have any other choice? I believe your answer will help me know about women in America better.
By the way, you mentioned that you was excited to watch the movies which showcased women’s empowerment. So would you mind sharing the one you like best with me?
Looking forward to your reply!

Hi, Zixuan!

I’m so glad to receive your comments! In fact, if you re-read my essay carefully, you will find that I haven’t described Tsai-ling as a woman who holds a negative attitude when pursuing her dream. Instead, I agree that she is positive when trying her best to pursue her dream in the first half part like what you said. In the eighth paragraph of my essay, I show that my opinion on Tsai-ling’s attitudes and characters which lead her to quit her dream is that Tsai-ling is high-hearted, sensitive and so on (: If possible, please refer to the paragraph and you can find more details between her attitudes and giving up. And the reason why I mentioned Chinese culture is that I think relatively passive and introverted Chinese culture forms a fence which makes Tsai-ling be hardly accepted and stops Tsai-ling from realizing her dream. Maybe I haven’t explained it well and I will improve it later.
By the way, I agree that Tsai-ling lacks support but I don’t think Tsai-ling has difficulty with her skills because the manager of the National Opera Company says she sings well and the reason why they don’t admit Tsai-ling is that all the positions are occupied. Maybe it’s true that Tsai-ling has difficulty with her skills but we can’t get the conclusion of it from the film, right?
Also, I think your explanation that people at that time wouldn’t be able to appreciate the art is reasonable and the development you describe is smooth.
By the way, what do you mean by explaining way through? I’m sorry that I didn’t catch what you said. So, would you mind explaining it in detail for me in order that I can give you a exact answer?
Looking forward to your reply.

Hi Wanyi!

I am so happy to have your response to my comments as well as your opinion on Cailing's professional skills.

I went back and re-read your essay after reading your explanation of your idea in the paragraph and I realized that I misunderstand your point of carrying out the relatively passive Chinese Culture, your replay explained the confusion I met during my first time reading pretty well. And I think it would be a great fit for your essay to mention your purpose of that somewhere to have a more clear statement. Overall I feel like the comparison between Chinese culture and that of the U.S is great. In fact, I think the vocabulary relatively, you used in your response did an excellent job to describe differences between two of them.

However, I still think that Cailing has a lack of her professional skills. In the movie, there was a sense when Cailing was talking to the HR person in Beijing, after Cailing sang for her the lady just said," yes, I have known your skill level, and I remember you came last year." We could refer that to an excuse, but personally, I enjoy listening to operas in my spare time so I could be able to tell her skill was limited. She might be an expert in her domestic area and she does have a gifted talent on opera but there are so many people like her in Beijing. More than that, if you got a chance to listen to Pavarotti's opera you would be able to tell, her singing was vulgar and skill-less. In my opinion, she was just one of them trying to use her "talent" to get out of the city, I don't it's a bad thing, but her story is showing the sorrow of that time era.

Also, about your question, I think that might be a moss typing since I really don't understand the sentence as well

Looking forward to your reply.