Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

298 Words2 Pages
In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, the readers learn that even the strongest friendships are vulnerable because it’s human nature to be selfish. Luo and the narrator have been best friends ever since they were little and shared all sorts of experiences together (9). However, even with a friendship as strong as theirs, jealousy comes between them when Luo starts dating the most attractive, desirable girl in the village, the Little Seamstress. Sijie shows the narrator falling in love with the Little Seamstress when the narrator thought, “But now that she was laughing I was so utterly captivated that I wanted to marry her there and then, regardless of her being Luo’s girlfriend” (88). Even though the narrator knows that the Little Seamstress is off-limits, being Luo’s girlfriend, he can’t help wanting her. He knows clearly that he shouldn’t intervene in his best friend’s relationship, but it’s human nature for him to be selfish, to want to have her for his own. Sijie emphasizes how the narrator can’t control his feelings later on and how deeply he is in love with the Little Seamstress: “She was my soul mate and I was ready to spend the rest of my life taking care of her, content even to die a bachelor if that would help” (159). As the story goes on, the narrator is unable to take back his love for the Little Seamstress, despite her still being Luo’s girlfriend and carrying his child. This jealousy that he has for Luo changes their friendship. It’s not the same anymore, and probably won’t ever be again. As strong as friendships can be, you can always find weaknesses in them. With the right damage at the right spot, a friendship can easily crumble to
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