Quote 4
Saint took me to America, where I lived in houses smaller than the one in the country. I wore large American clothes. I did servant’s tasks. I learned the Western ways. I tried to speak with a thick tongue. I raised a daughter, watching her from another shore. I accepted her American ways.
With all these things, I did not care. I had no spirit. (IV.2.75)
Despite Clifford St. Clair thinking that he was saving Ying-ying by bringing her to America, Ying-ying doesn’t have an extremely positive opinion of the Land of Opportunity. In some ways, her life in China was better – she had a larger house, didn’t do "servant’s tasks, and would have been able to better relate to her daughter there.
Quote 5
"Why can’t I ask?"
"This is because…because if you ask it…it is no longer a wish but a selfish desire," said Amah. "Haven’t I taught you – that it is wrong to think of your own needs? A girl can never ask, only listen." (I.4.30)
Ying-ying is taught to give up her voice and spirit in favor of circumscribed gender roles.
Quote 6
I became a stranger to myself. I was pretty for him. If I put slippers on my feet, it was to choose a pair that I knew would please him. I brushed my hair ninety-nine times a night to bring luck to our marital bed, in hopes of conceiving a son. (IV.2.41)
Ying-ying begins to lose herself when she started placing her husband at the center of her existence.