2 - Archetypes and Images of Grandmothers

Summary

Older Chinese women have been presented in particular, often flattering, ways. The status of matriarch gave them dominance in their household. The inner world of the family belonged to the matriarch, the external to her husband or son. Matriarchs could be rich or poor. The two dominant exemplars came from opposite ends of the social scale.The Lady Dowager ruled over a household of a thousand people. Liu Laolao was a peasant woman. Both ran their domains with love and care and, if necessary, strictness.

In traditional China women did not fear growing old. Their lives were getting better; they had survivced the miseries of their earlier lives. They wore sombre clothes, did not dye their hair or use make-up. They accepted their wrinkles as a sign of achievement, which it was when lifespans were short. They expected and received recognition and preferential treatment from their families. They took pride in the successes of their grandchildren and regared them as their own.

Matriarchs are figures of the past, their decline coinciding with the decline of multi-generational families and the rise in the status of younger women. They remain much-loved figures.