55 pages • 1 hour read
The Girls of Good Fortune
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Important Quotes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes depictions of racism, gender discrimination, violence, death, suicidal ideation, and substance use. There are also uses of offensive but previously commonly used language in reference to some ethnic groups.
“With our continually growing lineage of strong, successful, brightly natured women […] many began calling us the ‘girls of good fortune.’ And while in many ways, it applies, it hasn’t always—not for everyone.”
(Prologue, Page 2)
The candid tone of the novel’s opening introduces the unnamed narrator at a later stage in her life, and her contemplative words position the bulk of the narrative as a flashback to earlier events. Her use of the phrase “girls of good fortune” bestows several conflicting meanings upon the novel’s title, especially when the narrator acknowledges the ironic distance between this appellation and the family history that she is about to relate.
“To secure a job, Celia had quickly learned to present her surname not as Chung but Hart, her mother’s maiden name. Even her prideful father hadn’t objected to the pragmatic charade.”
(Part 2, Chapter 4, Page 27)
The novel extensively examines marginalized people’s use of Assimilation as a Survival Strategy, acknowledging that in some cases, the only way to avoid harm is to deny essential parts of one’s own identity. When Celia’s father, who is Chinese, concedes to her choice to pretend to be white, his reaction reflects his resigned understanding of the barriers and the prejudices that his daughter would face if she were considered to be Chinese.
“Alone with him in this barn, a universe of their own making, with his hands resting on her hips, she felt protected, cherished.”
(Part 2, Chapter 5, Page 35)
The languid, romantic tone of this passage highlights the young Celia’s naiveté as she basks in Stephen’s love and affection and imagines that she might not have to contend with the very real prejudices that will stand in opposition to her budding romance with this scion of upper-class white culture.
