I loved this movie very much, and I know that this question cannot really be answered, but I cannot stop wondering what happened to the 'Little Seamstress' once she arrived in the city. Am I overly pessimistic when I think that she might end in poverty, despair, maybe prostitution, because she lost her roots in the countryside, but - despite the knowledge of some literature - lacked a profound education? Has anybody had similar thoughts?
shareThe French would be disappointed if she was reduced to a depraved condition. The story's message was that reading Balzac et al gives a provincial mind a profound education. Makes her crave vaster horizons than even the mountains provide. True, she was callous to leave her grandfather and lover so easily. But that just goes to prove that the resulting personality isn't always pretty.
Still, the seamstress seemed tough and clever. And being a seamstress means she had resources even in a city. And she has a better chance of meeting a man that could meet her newly acquired tastes and standards.
I grew up in a tiny town, and can testify that the city environment requires only a minor adjustment. The the "roots" and "virtues" of country life are mostly the illusions of city folk.
I think the fact that we were told she eventually moved to Hong Kong means she entered a bigger world than her small village could offer.
I have no doubt she became a well rounded person, married and had numerous children all of which were educated and enjoyed freedom of thought.
The villagers (as we saw) remained frozen.
We weren't told that she went to Hong Kong -- that was a speculation.
As for freedom of thought: it's under threat closer to home: there are those who, being illiterate, but mistaking that for "freedom," hate the educated because "elitists".
Luo did tell Ma that when he searched for TLS in 1982, he tracked her to a job in one city, but that she moved on from there to Hong Kong.
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