Bone by Fae Myenne Ng: critical response and analysis

¶ … Independent Life: Leila's Stubborn Family Ties in Ng's Novel Bone

In Bone: A Novel, by Fae Myenne Ng, the Chinese-American protagonist, a recently-married young woman named Leila Louie, oldest of three sisters, is still torn between looking out more for her own interests, or for those of her mother (Mah) and her stepfather (Leon, who is more like her own father). Leila's Chinese-born mother, who owns her own baby store in San Francisco's Chinatown, is separated from Leon (Leila's biological father left his pregnant wife in San Francisco to seek his fortune in Australia, but (despite promises) never returned or sent for them). Leon has moved into an apartment at the "San Fran" for older men, after Leila's younger half-sister Ona (Leon and Mah's first child together) committed suicide. Leila's feelings of responsibility for Mah and Leon have only increased since then, especially since Leila's only remaining sister, Nina, lives in New York. Leila consequently feels the need to assist with Mah's and Leon's lives; care for them and try to keep things running as smoothly as possible because (1) she has always functioned before as their English-speaking liaison to the English-speaking world; and (2) neither is coping well with the loss of their daughter Ona. These two factors substantially impact Leila's willingness to move in with Mason and start an independent adult life, and also cause Leila considerable angst and frustration until she takes the bold step of marrying Mason away from home.

Unwilling (or perhaps unable) to confront Mah and Leon, and Mah in particular, about moving out to start an adult life with Mason, Leila takes matters into her own hands and marries him out of town, symbolically declaring her new independence, not only by marrying Mason, but by avoiding an elaborate Chinese-style wedding, the kind Leila's mother had wanted her to have. However, as Gee also points out: "Leila is far from the submissive stereotype . . . Leila's sensuality and pleasure can also be interpreted as significant movement beyond the submissive images of the Asian woman who exists to gratify male desires" ("Deconstructing a Narrative Hierarchy: Leila Leong's "I" in Fae Myenne Ng's Bone").

That said, however, Leila clearly still has enormous difficulty breaking away from Mah and Leon, even after her wedding. After all, she returns to live near them in San Francisco, where she and Mason both have jobs. The main difference, though, is that now Leila may officially live an independent adult life, whatever Mah thinks. In fact, it was never Mason himself that Mah objected to in the least; it was the idea of losing Leila's dependence on her. After all, as Mah states (after learning of the marriage and Leila's asking her "You don't like Mason, is that it?"): "Mason . . . I love." (p. 23)

Moreover, Leila's personality is also somewhat that of a caretaker. Even her choice of job reflects this. In her job at the local Chinese school district, Leila visits students' parents at home to encourage them to do more for their children, and to rely less on the school (usually doing so in vain). These professional efforts on Leila's part, however, in many ways parallel her being a go-between for Mah and Leon against the English-speaking world (e.g. The Social Security office and other confusing places).

When the novel begins, Leila and Mason (whose job is, ironically, repairing expensive German-made cars like Mercedes and BMW's) have just returned to San Francisco as husband and wife. Leila, however (although she is glad to have eloped) feels hesitant to tell her mother she is married. After first telling her stepfather, Leon, she admits to herself, "I wasn't ready to tell Mah the news" (p. 14). Leila's hesitation is understandable, since when she finally does tell her mother, Mah's response is: