Emily of Emerald Hill: a Singaporean perspective in history and culture. (Part 2)
A struggle with identity
"Yes, I was frightened when I first came to Emerald Hill. The mother-in-law was not my only trouble. I was my husband's second wife - his first wife died three years before - and the wives of the second and third brothers were aged eighteen and nineteen, not prepared to accept a young bride as the senior sister-in-law. I was an orphan from a poor family; I was a girl alone, coming to a house of women who hated me before they knew my name. " (Act One of primary text)
When Emily was married into the Gan family, her future certainly seems quite daunting. Her upbringing of her getting abandoned by her mother at a young age has taken a toil on her outlook of motherhood. Being robbed off the role model of a motherly figure, along with the bankruptcy and death of her father has shaped her to be tough and resourceful to deal with problems on her own. She grew to be objective and pragmatic to make things work for herself instead of succumbing to her problems.
"So they tried to bully me but I didn't cry: I never cried for myself." (Act One of primary text)
Being the youngest wife amongst three wives and at the same time married to the eldest son, she faced tensions in commanding the authority that the eldest wife has in the domestic household as there is an unspoken stigma of authority and age in the culture. It is ironic yet veritable that our identity can be extenuated by reputation, capabilities, impression and other factors. In this context, Emily's age is a factor that negatively affects the impression of others on her. This dilemma still exists in today’s Singaporean culture where authority is dependent on one’s age or years of experience, and not the title held, where employers look for working experience in the field over the potential of the employee. For Emily's case, she did her best to win the favour of her mother-in-law, as can be seen
" So my mother-in-law liked me a lot. When she went to town in the big Studebaker she took me with her - Susie again didn't want to keep her company. One day she went to the bank to take out her diamonds for a party. And that day she happened to be in a good mood so she take out her big ring and asked me, "Mau-kah, Emily?"
So she gave me her ring... " (Act One of primary text).
Through wise planning and management of people, she flourished and rose to prominence in her social circle. Eventually she inherited the mansion in Emerald Hill and managed it well.
A similar parallel can be drawn in Singapore’s status amongst other Asian countries that have come a longer way historically as compared to Singapore. Abandoned by her mother (Malaysia) at a young infancy stage, Singapore has to resort to being pragmatic and strong-willed to handle problems her own way. Even though Singapore is considered to have a powerful economy and impressive military might as compared to her neighbouring countries, because of her age, she can sometimes be treated lightly in the eyes of older neighbouring nations that believe they have seen it all and “been there and done that”.
However, against all odds, Singapore not only survived but thrived just as how Emerald Hill shone in glamour under the management of Emily.
References:
1. http://www.slideshare.net/yeoyamhwee/the-main-ppt-for-teaching-in-class2011-for-emily
2. http://www.timeout.com/penang/museums/pinang-peranakan-mansion
3. https://vulcanpost.com/292701/ndp-tickets-carousell/
