Jessie Taylor
In The Red Candle, Lindo Jong learns about sacrifice, familial obligations, and honour. Betrothed at just two years old, Lindo submits to her parents' plans for her future, enduring a loveless marriage to honour them and prevent them from losing face. She learns to cook, sew, and clean to be a good wife, but her husband Tyan-yu shows no interest in consummating their marriage. When a servant girl becomes pregnant, Lindo devises a plan to end her marriage, tricking her mother-in-law into believing that Tyan-yu will die if they remain married. Lindo escapes her marriage on her terms, showcasing her independence and ingenuity. She later travels to America, where she finds love and has three children, valuing her gold bracelets as symbols of her purity and self-worth.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Lindo Jong's age when betrothed | 2 years old |
| Lindo's husband | Tyan-yu |
| Lindo's parents' promise | To give their daughter in marriage |
| Lindo's sacrifice | Her life to keep her parents' promise |
| Lindo's submission | To a carping, loveless marriage |
| Lindo's reason for enduring the marriage | To ensure her parents' honour and prevent them from losing face |
| Lindo's reason for leaving the marriage | Honour |
| Lindo's plan to leave the marriage | To make it seem like her in-laws wanted her to leave |
| Lindo's plan to leave the marriage | To pretend to have a dream in which her ancestors saw the candle burn out on her wedding night |
| Lindo's plan to leave the marriage | To pretend that a servant girl was Tyan-yu's spiritual wife |
| Lindo's plan to leave the marriage | To pretend that her ancestors said Tyan-yu would die if he stayed in the marriage |
| Lindo's plan to leave the marriage | To show a mole on Tyan-yu's back as proof |
| Lindo's life after the marriage | Travelled to America, married Tin Jong, had three children |
| Lindo's symbol of purity | Twenty-four-carat gold bracelets |
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What You'll Learn
- Lindo Jong's story is about familial obligations and honour
- Lindo learns to cook, sew, and clean to be a good wife
- Lindo's marriage to the Huangs' son is a life of servitude
- Lindo's monologue to her daughter reinforces the theme of the generation gap
- Lindo's story is about sacrifice and survival in an old-fashioned world
Lindo Jong's story is about familial obligations and honour
Lindo Jong's story in "The Red Candle" from *The Joy Luck Club* is a tale of familial obligations and honour. Lindo, betrothed at just two years old to a boy a year her junior, submits her life to her parents' plans for her future. She is willing to endure an unhappy, loveless marriage to fulfil her duty as a daughter and ensure her parents' honour, even as she suffers the criticism and blame of her in-laws for not producing children.
Lindo's parents promised her hand in marriage to a boy named Tyan-yu, following ancient Chinese custom. However, this arrangement goes against the modern concept of marriage, where matches are made based on love. Despite the outdated nature of this tradition, Lindo's family adheres to it due to their background. When Lindo is twelve, her parents are forced to leave their home due to a flood, and she stays behind with Tyan-yu's family. She is treated poorly, relegated to the servants' quarters, and forced to perform menial tasks. At sixteen, she marries Tyan-yu, and the couple's wedding night introduces the symbolism of the red candle.
The red candle is a marriage bond, decorated with the names of both spouses and lit at both ends. If it burns through the night without going out, the marriage is believed to be forever unbreakable. Lindo, aware of this superstition, seizes an opportunity to blow out Tyan-yu's end of the candle when a thunderclap scares the servant meant to be watching it. However, the servant relights the candle, and Lindo is disillusioned as she realises fate can be manipulated.
Despite her initial fears, Lindo discovers that Tyan-yu has no interest in consummating their marriage. Over time, however, this lack of intimacy becomes a source of tension, as Lindo is criticised for not bearing children. Tyan-yu even lies to his mother, blaming Lindo for their childlessness. Lindo's mother-in-law, Huang Taitai, confines her to bed in an attempt to encourage pregnancy. It is only when Lindo notices a servant girl is pregnant by her boyfriend that she devises a plan to end her marriage honourably. She tells Huang Taitai that she had a dream in which Tyan-yu's ancestors revealed the candle had gone out on their wedding night, foretelling his death if he stayed in the marriage. She also claims that the servant girl is Tyan-yu's spiritual wife, carrying his true heir. Huang Taitai believes Lindo's story, and Lindo's marriage contract is severed.
Lindo's story illustrates her struggle to balance familial obligations and her desire for personal honour and happiness. She escapes her loveless marriage without breaking her promise to her parents, using superstition and ingenuity to manipulate tradition in her favour. Her story reflects the generation gap between herself and her daughter, who struggles to understand the importance of honour and sacrifice.
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Lindo learns to cook, sew, and clean to be a good wife
Lindo Jong's story in "The Red Candle" is one of sacrifice, honour, and survival in a world bound by tradition. Betrothed at just two years old, Lindo was raised to be a good wife. She learned to cook, sew, and clean, and was taught that family honour was paramount. Lindo's monologue to her daughter highlights the generational gap between them; Lindo's daughter struggles to understand the importance of duty and sacrifice, values that were instilled in Lindo from a young age.
Lindo was obedient to her parents and accepted her fate, even though her marriage to Tyan-yu was loveless and devoid of emotion. She knew her role and dutifully learned the skills necessary to be a wife and run a household. Lindo's future mother-in-law, Huang Taitai, instructed servants to teach Lindo how to perform household duties, including cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, and embroidering clothes. These were the skills that were expected of a wife at the time, and Lindo diligently learned them to honour her parents and uphold the family name.
Lindo's marriage to Tyan-yu was a difficult one. She was criticised for not producing children, and her mother-in-law even forced her to stay in bed, hoping to increase the chances of pregnancy. However, Tyan-yu himself refused to consummate the marriage, and Lindo lived with him platonically, caring for him like a sister. Despite her unhappiness, Lindo remained committed to her duty as a wife and daughter, enduring the marriage to honour her parents and prevent them from losing face.
Ultimately, Lindo's resourcefulness and determination led her to devise a plan to escape her marriage without dishonouring her family. She tricked her mother-in-law into believing that a servant girl was pregnant with Tyan-yu's child and that their marriage was doomed. With her quick thinking and strategic use of superstition, Lindo gained her freedom and agency over her life. She left for America, where she married again and had three children.
Lindo's journey in "The Red Candle" showcases her resilience and adaptability. She learned the skills of a wife, endured a difficult marriage, and ultimately found the strength and ingenuity to break free from tradition and choose her own path.
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Lindo's marriage to the Huangs' son is a life of servitude
Lindo Jong's story in "The Red Candle" is one of sacrifice, survival, and honour in a traditional world. At just two years old, Lindo was promised in marriage by her parents to a boy named Tyan-yu, the son of the wealthy Huangs. Following the old ways, Lindo's parents believed in arranged marriages, a custom still prevalent in pre-revolutionary China. When Lindo turned twelve, her parents were forced to leave their home due to a flood, and she was left with the Huangs to learn the ways of a good wife, such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning. Despite her young age and the servitude she endured, Lindo never considered disobeying her parents' wishes, as family honour was paramount.
Lindo's marriage to Tyan-yu, however, was loveless and miserable. Her husband showed no interest in consummating their union, and when questioned, he blamed Lindo, which resulted in her being confined to bed by her mother-in-law, Huang Taitai, in the hopes of producing a grandchild. Lindo's life became one of servitude, as she was never truly accepted as a member of the Huang family. She was made to stay in the servants' quarters and perform menial tasks, treated poorly, and forced to marry Tyan-yu at sixteen.
Realizing the unhappy situation, Lindo devised a plan to escape her marriage without dishonouring her family. She pretended to have a dream in which she saw the marriage candle, a symbol of their union, burned out on their wedding night. She also claimed that Tyan-yu's true spiritual wife was a servant girl in the household who was pregnant with his child. Huang Taitai believed Lindo's story, and Lindo's marriage contract was severed. Lindo's quick thinking and manipulation of superstitions and traditions allowed her to break free from her life of servitude and gain full agency over her destiny.
Lindo's story highlights the generational gap between herself and her daughter. Lindo sacrificed her happiness to honour her family, a concept that her daughter struggles to understand, demonstrating a shift in values between the old world and the new.
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Lindo's monologue to her daughter reinforces the theme of the generation gap
In Amy Tan's "The Red Candle", Lindo Jong's monologue to her daughter highlights the theme of the generation gap by contrasting the expectations and values of Lindo's generation with those of her daughter's. Lindo, a Chinese woman, was raised to believe that children should sacrifice everything to honour their parents and fulfil their wishes. She herself was betrothed at the age of two to a boy a year her junior, and at twelve, she was sent away from her family to live with his. She accepted her fate without question and worked hard to be a good wife, learning to cook, sew, and clean.
However, her daughter, a Chinese-American, does not share these values. Lindo complains that her daughter does not understand honour and sacrifice, and cannot even keep a simple promise to come to dinner. This contrast between the two generations is a direct result of their differing cultural contexts. Lindo's daughter has grown up in a society where arranged marriages are no longer the norm, and individual choice and freedom are valued over familial obligations.
Lindo's monologue also reveals her own disillusionment with the traditions she was raised with. Despite her initial belief in the power of the red candle ritual to bind her to her husband, she ultimately takes control of her life by blowing out the candle herself and devising a plan to escape her marriage. In doing so, she shifts from the traditional expectation of obedience in women and embraces her independence. This foreshadows the independent spirit of the American daughters, who are less bound by the expectations of their mothers' generation.
Through Lindo's monologue, Tan explores the complex dynamics of the generation gap, highlighting how the expectations and values of one generation can become outdated and even oppressive to the next. By sharing her story, Lindo attempts to bridge the gap between her own experiences and those of her daughter, offering a glimpse into the sacrifices and struggles of a previous generation.
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Lindo's story is about sacrifice and survival in an old-fashioned world
Lindo Jong's story in "The Red Candle" is a testament to sacrifice and survival in a world bound by tradition and duty. From a young age, Lindo was taught that family honour and obedience were paramount. When she was just two years old, her parents promised her hand in marriage to a boy named Tyan-yu, adhering to the old ways of arranged marriages. This betrothal set the course of her life, shaping her sacrifices and struggles to come.
Lindo's journey is marked by her unwavering commitment to honour her parents and uphold the family name, even at the cost of her happiness. At the age of twelve, she was left with Tyan-yu's family, the Huangs, after her parents were forced to flee their home due to a flood. Despite the cruel treatment by her future in-laws, Lindo remained obedient, diligently learning the skills expected of a wife, such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning. She accepted her fate without question, embodying the sacrifices demanded of her by the traditional world she inhabited.
The heart of Lindo's story lies in her marriage to Tyan-yu. On her wedding night, she encountered the red marriage candle, a symbol of the unbreakable bond between them. In a pivotal act of autonomy, Lindo blew out Tyan-yu's end of the candle, challenging the notion of passive womanhood. This act set in motion her plan to escape the loveless and emotionally barren marriage. Lindo's ingenuity and manipulation of superstition allowed her to convince her in-laws that the marriage was doomed, freeing herself from the confines of a life she didn't choose.
Lindo's survival and escape from her marriage reflect her resilience and determination to reclaim agency over her life. She navigated the constraints of her old-fashioned world, using tradition to her advantage. Ultimately, Lindo's story is one of transformation, as she breaks free from the expectations of her traditional upbringing and charts a new course for herself, eventually travelling to America and marrying Tin Jong. Her journey highlights the power of sacrifice and the enduring spirit of survival, even in the face of oppressive societal norms.
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Frequently asked questions
The red candle symbolises Lindo's marriage to Tyan-yu. According to tradition, the candle is decorated with the names of the couple on either end and is burned at both ends simultaneously on their wedding night. If the candle stays lit through the night, the marriage is sealed and cannot be broken.
Lindo learns that she can take control of her life and that she does not have to be bound by tradition and fate. She makes a promise to herself on her wedding day to honour her parents but also to stay true to herself.
Lindo tricks her in-laws into thinking that a servant girl is pregnant with Tyan-yu's child and that the marriage is doomed. She uses superstitions and traditional beliefs to her advantage to convince them to end the marriage.
Lindo travels to America, where she marries Tin Jong and has three children. She also celebrates the day she left her first husband by taking off her bracelets and cherishing her freedom.
