Balzac and the Little Chine Seamstress

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In the novel Balzac and the Little Chine Seamstress the two main characters, Luo and the narrator uses books to educate an uncultured Little Seamstress. Later on in the story, their plan “backfires” because the Little Seamstress discovers the woman’s beauty is a gift beyond price. At first, although it felt like it left a horrible crises on the characters of the book; it ultimately led to a positive impact on each of their lives.
One of the most important people the book impacted was the main narrator. In the beginning of the book, the narrator was depicted as a boy who was forced to work with coal mines and rice crops. For him, nothing existed beyond the world he was then living, which wasn’t a live at all. The narrator and Luo were basically guinea pigs used my Mao to accomplish his own personal goal. (Pg 7) “We were not the first to be used as guinea pigs in this grand human experiment, nor would we be the last.”Towards the end of the story however, the narrator didn’t have this attitude. When the narrator started reading the books, he experienced new emotions and understandings about the outside world that he world never been able to gain otherwise. Ultimately, he learns how to make decisions of his own as an independent individual. When the narrator read one of the books which is by Jean-Christophe; he states “without him I would never have understood the splendor of taking free and independent actions as an individual”. (Pg 110)Although the narrator and Luo were exposed to things such as sex, woman and love through those books as well, those are all part of life and its better to be aware of them then not at all. Overall, the books positively impacted the narrator’s live.
Another important character the books impacte...

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...ng but he and Lou couldn’t do so because they were trapped in the harsh world of Emperor Mao. These books were almost providing an “opening in his mind” about the outside world. Even though Ma might never be able to physically leave his culture, these books in a way provided him individual freedom to do so mentally.
In conclusion, exposure to the western books definitely impacted the lives of the boys and the little semesters. It opened the boys’ minds and served as a key to the “other world” they may not ever be able to reach physically. For the little seamstress, the books led her to having natural pride and desires for herself. Perhaps if the boys and the little seamstress were never exposed to the books, their lives would be more peaceful but it would definitely not be more developed and purposeful.

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