Furthermore, her behavior is decidedly devious as she actually commits a social transgression in the form of theft. There are no such indiscretions on the part of Granny, who is able to assert her agency in a much more positive manner. Nonetheless, because Ah Nee is dependent upon her master for so much, she is only able to exercise her agency both in relation to him and in a much less positive way.
In general, there is a dependent attribute for the female agency found in "Shame Amah" which is conspicuously aspect in "Granny". As previously mentioned, Ah Nee's agency is only notable as it exists in relation to her master. However, there are other female characters who demonstrate agency in this same way -- in relation to a quintessentially domineering, male character Master. Master's characterization is significant for a couple of different reasons. Firstly he is a European living in Asia, which signifies a salience of social status readily underscored by his wealth (which is discerned by the reader by the fact that he employs Ah Nee as a domestic. Secondly, he is a bachelor who has myriad women vying for his attention, if not his affections. This second point is of paramount importance because it creates a situation in which these female characters can simply exercise agency in relation to this strong, rich, single foreigner. This fact is readily apparent when Ah Nee reflects about one of his many female romantic interests that "the new one must be a capable girl if she could make him spend money on her" (Chang 111).
The diction of this passage speaks volumes about the theme of female agency in this particular piece. There is a direct correlation between such agency and Master's wealth. In her rumination, Ah Nee measures how "capable" or worthy Master's romantic interest by how much money he spends on her. Although the amount is not necessarily quantified in this quotation, Ah Nee is suitably impressed that her master would spend any of his money on a woman. Another critical facet of the diction in this passage is the fact that Ah Nee thinks of this other woman as a "girl". Such word choice has connotations of subservience, which are aligned with the male dominance which Master represents as a wealthy European foreigner among non-Western people. As such, it is truly significant that the way agency is demonstrated by this woman is in getting Master to take her out and pay for that experience. There are some women he has who he does not bother to take out -- and whom he is conceivably spending much less money on than on the one he is taking out. Again, there is a direct correlation between female agency and dependence on a male found in this passage and in this work as a whole. The ultimate expression of female agency demonstrated in this book is measured in terms of attention and financial endowments Master is willing to give.
On the contrary, Granny demonstrates a considerable amount of independent female agency. In fact, she evidences the sort of female agency that is curious bereft in Chang's piece. Granny has no domineering male figure in her life; the preceding quotations from this book suggests that not many other women in the story did either. Nonetheless, despite the presence of a man to offer either the financial or physical support which Master provides to many women in Chang's tale, Granny is able to support a host of other character's in Anyi's short story about which the narrator remarks, "How many people she carried on her back! Her daughter told her that her future husband wanted to attend high school, at her expense; her nephew was studying acting with…
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