37 - Sun or Moon: Cultural difference in Heroines’ Persona in Mona Lisa Smile and And the Spring Comes

[Grace L.]

Hi Zhihong,
1) What is 'her fierce defensive dismissal'?
2) Does it prove she has no faith?
When Cailing's neighbor went to tell her in great depression that her husband had been missing for two days and took away all their money, instead of soothing her neighbor, Cailing fight back indignantly. She believed her neighbor came to her not for help but to remind her of her identity as a loser--ugly, unmarried old woman and a frustrated opera singer. This unusual response suggests Cailing felt inferior to her neighbor, who is beautiful and fashionable and married and lived a "normal" life. This reaction is in stark contrast with Cailing's indifference to the neighbor's greeting in the beginning of the movie, when Cailing firmly believed that she would soon go to Beijing to sing in the National Opera Hall. she appeared a bit arrogant ("high-profile") at the time. However her faith faded away and finally died out when she failed first in marrying her love and then in realizing her dream. Repeated frustrations reinforce her self-construal as an ugly, "having nothing-but the voice" woman, which makes her even sensitive to her looks and gets lost.

[Grace L.]

Hi Zhihong,
1) What is 'her fierce defensive dismissal'?
2) Does it prove she has no faith?
When Cailing's neighbor went to tell her in great depression that her husband had been missing for two days and took away all their money, instead of soothing her neighbor, Cailing fight back indignantly. She believed her neighbor came to her not for help but to remind her of her identity as a loser--ugly, unmarried old woman and a frustrated opera singer. This unusual response suggests Cailing felt inferior to her neighbor, who is beautiful and fashionable and married and lived a "normal" life. This reaction is in stark contrast with Cailing's indifference to the neighbor's greeting in the beginning of the movie, when Cailing firmly believed that she would soon go to Beijing to sing in the National Opera Hall. she appeared a bit arrogant ("high-profile") at the time. However her faith faded away and finally died out when she failed first in marrying her love and then in realizing her dream. Repeated frustrations reinforce her self-construal as an ugly, "having nothing-but the voice" woman, which makes her even sensitive to her looks and gets lost.

[Zihong Z.]

Thank you, Grace! Yes, indeed. Through the comparison you mentioned, I can finally see how Wang Cailing's self-construal has changed.

See? Thanks to you, I'm now capable of using the word 'self-construal'! I'm so happy about this.

I hope you have had a good time during our activity and wish you all the best in your future endeavours.