In Zhang’s ‘‘Love Must Not Be Forgotten,’’ the narrator, Shanshan, discusses the discovery of her mother’s love for a married man, and much of the story is devoted to the unfolding of the details of this secret attachment. Zhang uses Shanshan’s memories, in conjunction with the diary, to allow the reader and Shanshan a glimpse…
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Love Must Not Be Forgotten – Setting
Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China in 1966 commenced a political campaign designed to protect and consolidate Mao’s power and eliminate any threat posed by dissenters and enemies. Artists, academics, and intellectuals were accused of being elitists, and their works…
Love Must Not Be Forgotten – Literary Devices
First-Person Narrator and Present Tense A first-person narrative is one in which the person telling the story refers to himself or herself as . In ‘‘Love Must Not Be Forgotten,’’ the first-person narrator happens to be the main character in the story, Shanshan, although this is not always the case in stories narrated in the…
Love Must Not Be Forgotten – Themes
Marriage According to Shanshan, marriage as it exists in the People’s Republic of China in the 1970s is typically a simple business arrangement. Love rarely factors in, and marriage and procreation are necessary duties to be performed. Shanshan sums up the Chinese view of marriage by saying that it is focused on ‘‘law and morality.’’…
Love Must Not Be Forgotten – Characters
Qiao Lin Qiao Lin is the suitor (boyfriend) of Shanshan, the narrator of ‘‘Love Must Not Be Forgotten.’’ He is described as extremely handsome. Shanshan has known him for about two years. Qiao Lin is quiet, so much so that Shanshan suspects he is either not particularly intelligent, a suspicion that remains after she attempts…
Love Must Not Be Forgotten – Summary
In Zhang’s ‘‘Love Must Not Be Forgotten,’’ the narrator is a thirty-year-old woman contemplating marriage. Shanshan, the narrator, describes her suitor Qiao Lin as handsome but quiet. Unable to discern whether his silence derives from a contemplative nature, which makes him reluctant to speak, or from the fact that he simply has nothing to say,…
The Leap by Louise Erdrich – Analysis
Louise Erdrich is known for developing realistic, well-rounded characters whose emotional evolution is subtle yet unmistakable. Her female characters in particular are flawed yet embody a sense of strength, usually dormant until the character is forced to draw upon it for either emotional or physical survival. In the short story ‘‘The Leap,’’ Anna is the…
The Leap by Louise Erdrich – Setting
Erdrich’s Family By 1990, Louise Erdrich had five children, three her husband had adopted prior to marriage and two biological daughters, both of whom were very young at the time ‘‘The Leap’’ was first published. Given these circumstances, motherhood and writing were the two endeavors that required most of Erdrich’s attention. It is quite possible…
The Leap by Louise Erdrich – Narrator, Imagery, Magical Realism
First-Person Narrator Erdrich considers herself a storyteller, and so it is fitting that she tells her stories in first person, that is, using the word ‘‘I,’’ as if she is talking directly to the reader. First person is a more personal way of telling a story; it is the technique used when friends talk to…
The Leap by Louise Erdrich – Themes
Mother-Child Relationships The entire story is a study of the mother-daughter relationship. The narrator credits her mother with her existence even beyond birth, and through recollection, makes clear the ties that bind them together. Although she never directly says it, the way the narrator gives voice to her memory reflects an admiration for her mother….