Bound
52 pages • 1-hour read
Donna Jo NapoliBound
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying, gender discrimination, physical abuse, emotional abuse, child abuse, child death, animal cruelty and death, graphic violence, and death.
Foot Binding
Foot binding functions as a motif of The Violence of Beauty Norms. The novel’s title is a reference to this historical practice, which involved breaking girls’ feet and tightly wrapping them in bandages to prevent them from growing because tiny feet were considered elegant. In addition to the physiological damage Napoli portrays, foot binding inhibits girls’ independence and mobility, as seen in the stepmother’s awareness that the “[p]ain rendered her daughter practically a prisoner these days” (20). Even though the stepmother knows the pain of foot binding from personal experience, she perpetuates the cycle of violence, demonstrating the dangers of internalized misogyny.
The motif is closely linked to the story’s genre as a piece of historical fiction and a fairy tale retelling. Napoli utilizes the historical practice to explain why Xing Xing, the Cinderella figure, has to do “the work of both girls” (7), as Wei Ping’s bound feet physically prevent her from doing chores. The novel’s treatment of foot binding examines the violence that historical beauty norms have inflicted on girls and women and encourages reflection on the cost of contemporary beauty standards.
The Carp
Xing Xing believes the carp is the reincarnated spirit of her mother, positioning the fish as a motif of The Importance of Familial Support and the Harm of Neglect. Napoli implies that Xing Xing’s mother was able to reincarnate as a carp due to her great love for her daughter and her determination to look after her even after her death. In keeping with the traditional structure of the Chinese Cinderella story, the fish with “[f]ins like red clouds at sunset” and “[e]yes like gold tears of joy” figures prominently in the novel’s plot (21). Napoli plants clues that foreshadows the revelation of the identity of Xing Xing’s “fish mother.” For instance, the protagonist feels close to her mother’s spirit when she visits the carp in the pool, and she expects that a human would have to do a “wonderful thing […] to come back in the next [life]” in such a beautiful form (29).
Xing Xing’s relationships with her living relatives are marked by cruelty and exploitation, but the fish is a cherished source of comfort. The stepmother ultimately kills the fish, linking the carp to both the value of supportive familial relationships and the harm of neglectful ones. The carp’s death marks a turning point in the protagonist’s character arc, motivating her to find her inner strength and break free from her stepmother’s control.
The Golden Shoes
The golden shoes act as an additional motif reinforcing the importance of familial support and the harm of neglect. In the Chinese version of the Cinderella story, the golden shoes serve the function of the glass slippers familiar to Western audiences. The loss of a shoe is an essential aspect of the traditional tale, and the golden shoes’ significance as a motif of familial support makes the loss even greater for Xing Xing: “Fear had made her lose Mother’s gift to her. Oh, precious gift—the golden shoe” (164). The phrasing of this excerpt emphasizes that the main character cherishes the shoes more for their connection to her mother than for their opulence and beauty, which demonstrates the high value she places on family.
Throughout the novel, Napoli highlights the Ming dynasty custom of parents arranging marriages for their children. As an orphan, Xing Xing has no one to arrange her marriage and secure her financial future. However, through her gift of the golden shoes, Xing Xing’s late mother fulfills this important responsibility as the prince decides to marry the woman whose foot fits the lost golden shoe.
Art
Art acts as a motif of The Struggle for Female Autonomy in a Patriarchal Society. Xing Xing’s creativity is a vital part of her identity because it’s considered countercultural, has deep connections to her parents, and figures prominently in her efforts to claim a future for herself. Children of Xing Xing’s socioeconomic status rarely receive an education, and this is especially true for girls, who are discouraged from developing their intelligence and talent under Confucianism. Despite this cultural standard, her father ensures that she receives an education in the “three perfections”—painting, poetry, and calligraphy. Practicing calligraphy and composing poetry allow Xing Xing to hold onto her identity despite her stepmother’s efforts to demean and diminish her. Xing Xing’s art also helps her claim agency at key moments, such as when she secures passage on the cargo ship in exchange for writing a poem on a sail.
The stepmother tries to use Xing Xing’s creativity against her by sending her out to compose poetry while she kills the carp. The joyful tone of poem Xing Xing’s poem—-“There’s nothing quiet about birds among flowers / Aren’t we glad, aren’t we lucky, to witness these powers” (131)—creates a stark contrast with the stepmother’s violence, emphasizing her betrayal. During the novel’s resolution, Xing Xing reclaims artistry as a source of identity and autonomy when she uses her way with words to win the prince’s heart, telling him, “Your lip is as white as my mother’s scales were” (183). Her poetry allows her to draw a final link between her mother’s spirit and the new family she will establish with the prince.
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