Bound (Donna Jo Napoli)

Author Biography

Donna Jo Napoli is head of the linguistics department at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. She has written dozens of books for children, tweens and young adults alike.

Published By: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Year: 2004

ISBN: 0-689-86175-3

Reading Level: Grades 9 and up

Reader’s Annotation:

In this Chinese-flavored “Cinderella” retelling, Xing Xing is an unwanted stepdaughter in a society where girls are worthless. But will she be bound by oppression forever?

Plot Summary:

In Ming dynasty China, fourteen-year-old orphan Xing Xing lives like a slave in the home of her cruel stepmother. Day and night she cares for her half-sister Wei Ping, whose foot bindings, meant to attract a good husband, cause her constant pain. Her only friends are Master Tang, who taught her painting, poetry and calligraphy, and a beautiful red and white carp in the pond where she draws water, which she believes is her mother’s reincarnation. But after she innocently causes a terrible accident that leaves Wei Peng's feet permanently mutilated, Stepmother despises her more than ever and kills her beloved fish.

Meanwhile, the village’s annual festival draws near. Stepmother and Wei Ping look forward to attending. And while hiding her fish’s bones, Xing Xing discovers a green silk gown and golden slippers that her mother meant for her to have. Does she dare put them on and try to change her destiny?

Critical Evaluation:

This novel technically isn’t a work of fantasy, but a realistic “Cinderella” retelling, somewhat in the vein of Ever After. But instead of drawing on the familiar European fairy-tale, it goes further back in history to one of the earliest known versions of the tale, the 9^th century Chinese story of Ye Xian, here renamed Xing Xing. Its title, Bound, has several layers of meanings: it alludes to stepsister Wei Ping’s painfully bound feet, to Xing Xing’s being “bound” to her stepfamily, and to the ways that all the women in the story are “bound” by ancient Chinese society’s brutal misogyny.

Like Napoli’s earlier fairy-tale novel Beast, Bound is a flawed book, particularly where pacing is concerned. Most of the novel is devoted to fleshing out the setting, Xing Xing’s circumstances and all the characters’ personalities, with the classic “Cinderella” storyline, like the “Beauty and the Beast” plot in Beast, only taking up the last few chapters. As a result, Xing Xing’s reversal of fortunes, introduction to the prince and character growth from vulnerable victim to courageous rebel all feel fairly rushed. But like Beast’s portrait of Iranian culture, this book’s vivid portrait of Ming dynasty China captivates nonetheless, with its emphasis on Xing Xing’s Taoist/Buddhist beliefs, her love and talent for her culture’s unique poetry and calligraphy, and the country’s social mores that make it clear how the “Cinderella” archetype might have originated there. Xing Xing is never a passive weakling, but stays with Stepmother because she literally has nowhere to go – no one else would be willing to add a “worthless” girl to their home. In these circumstances, Stepmother and especially Wei Ping also emerge as victims, unpleasant though they are. Through them we see how misogyny can pit women against each other. Imperfect though it is, this book is a colorful, believable journey into another time and place.

Curriculum Ties:

*Fairy-tale retellings

*China

*Women’s studies

Challenge Issues:

*Violence

*Disturbing imagery

*Sexual allusions

*Bodily function references

Why This Book?

While neither a perfect book nor the best “Cinderella” retelling available, Bound is still a captivating glance into ancient China and a worthwhile addition to any collection of fairy-tale novels.