Balzac And The Little Seamstress Analysis

A coming of age story is one that resonates with us and we can empathize with it. In Balzac and the Little Seamstress the author Dai Sijie presents a bildungsroman through the maturity of the protagonist/narrator after reading books by Western authors that changed his perspective in life. The protagonist’s maturity can be seen through how he learns about the ideals of individualism, his emotional maturity when handling a pregnancy and discovering parts of himself like his sadistic part. The narrator acquiring the knowledge of individualism changing his perspective on life hence the maturing of his mind. “But Jean-Christophe, with his fierce individualism… was a salutary revelation. … my poor educated and re-educated brains had been incapable of grasping the notion of one man standing up against the whole world.”(110,Sijie). The narrator was born and raised China during the Cultural Revolutionary period which in turn limited his knowledge of the world as compared to kids in more stable, rich countries. Through the consumption of western literature, his views on the world changed and he was able to recognize his place in the world and his ability to stand up against
“I had turned into a sadist- an out-and-out sadist.”(134,Sijie) This was after the period of time where he devoured all the western literature he had stolen. Prior to that period of time, he was a rather timid boy but after reading the books, he had changed to one that is able to embrace his nature such as his sadist one upon discovering it by accident. The narrator choosing to embrace it as opposed to keeping it smothered within him reflects the ideals of individualism that he had learned. Similarly to how he learned about himself, he also becomes more emotionally mature which can be seen through him solving an unwanted pregnacy