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Post by 2chuyongda10 on Jun 28, 2008 2:34:20 GMT -5
After reading the play, I feel that we should discuss about the one and only character inside, Emily. What are your opinions of her? Do you think she is a caring mother and wife, or otherwise? Why? Through the discussion, we can know more about Emily and see how others think about the character. Through this, we can better understand the play.
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Post by 2btaytianwen28 on Jun 30, 2008 4:39:55 GMT -5
Hi all,
In my opinion , Emily is a domineering housewife who always thinks that what she
does is ultimately for the best of her family. Never did she realise that her iron rule and tight
control will lead to drastic consequences that would not only adversely affect her, but the
entire Gan family.
But She can be described as a tyrant/ a domineering housewife to a certain extent.
She showers those who matter most to her (her eldest son, Richard and her Husband,Kiong)
with love and care, so much to the extent where she "overcared" with Richard's education
that resulted in Richard's suicide. Likewise for Kiong.
In the end, she becomes a lonely, frail old woman who spents the rest of her days
reminiscing about the glorious past, her long-dead son, and her husband who betrayed her.
Do post any comments,
Tian Wen
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Post by 2a03benjamintoh on Jun 30, 2008 6:14:03 GMT -5
Emily's roles in emily of emerald hill:
loving/concerned mother( she is concerned that Richard would not have a future at the riding club and thus persuaded him to go back to study at the university)
caring wife
caring daughter-in-law(well she looks after her mother-in-law)
commanding owner of emerald hill(gives orders to servants and sacks them if they are not performing)
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Post by 2balcanderseah01 on Jul 1, 2008 5:37:06 GMT -5
I will be posting on what I think about Emily.
I think that Emily was, to a certain extent, a good housewife and mother to the family. However, everything she does in the play carries with her a hidden motive rather than showing pure concern for her family.
All that she did for Richard was for him to be the heir of the family, thus keeping her in power of the household.
She valued Kheong a lot too as she was his wife. However, another reason why she valued Kheong so much was because he was the one who kept her in power. Without him, Emily would then lose her social status and her power over the household.
Emily's dominnering side also affected her impression in a way or another. She felt that ruling with an iron fist was the best for the whole household. However, this ruling over the family led to the suicide of her son instead.
From this incident, it probably explained why Emily did not act harshly and corner her husband too much when she found out that he was having an affair with Diana Lee as she knew that the result would be similar to the result of being to pushy towards Richard as quoted "He has an excuse to be angry" and "Mampus, you're finished!"
At the end of the play, she is then potrayed as a weak old lady who spends most of her time thinking about her lost son, showing that she regretted what she had done.
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Post by 2a24liangkun on Jul 5, 2008 22:08:15 GMT -5
Emily is obviously a multi-sided woman.
However, I think that she is - a genuinely caring mother who regretted pressuring Richard so much (and learnt to not be so controlling towards her other children) - a responsible housewife who takes care of the household properly - a helpful friend who gives Bee Choo a place to stay when she becomes homeless - a good daughter-in-law who helped/cajoled her mother-in-law (unlike her sister-in-law)
I feel that the domineering side of Emily is not her true side. Rather, the experiences of being abandoned as a child and not being cared for as a sister-in-law instilled inner fear and insecurity within Emily, and that formed a different side of her, the one which was thirsty for recognition and power. That side could only find fulfillment by being the matriarch of Emerald Hill to ensure that "no-one is going to throw her back into the gutter".
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Post by 2bwenkang04 on Jul 7, 2008 1:46:33 GMT -5
I will be posting on what I think about Emily. I think that Emily was, to a certain extent, a good housewife and mother to the family. However, everything she does in the play carries with her a hidden motive rather than showing pure concern for her family. All that she did for Richard was for him to be the heir of the family, thus keeping her in power of the household. She valued Kheong a lot too as she was his wife. However, another reason why she valued Kheong so much was because he was the one who kept her in power. Without him, Emily would then lose her social status and her power over the household. Emily's dominnering side also affected her impression in a way or another. She felt that ruling with an iron fist was the best for the whole household. However, this ruling over the family led to the suicide of her son instead. From this incident, it probably explained why Emily did not act harshly and corner her husband too much when she found out that he was having an affair with Diana Lee as she knew that the result would be similar to the result of being to pushy towards Richard as quoted "He has an excuse to be angry" and "Mampus, you're finished!" At the end of the play, she is then potrayed as a weak old lady who spends most of her time thinking about her lost son, showing that she regretted what she had done. Hello everyone, I agree with Alcander. I think that Emily is a good housewife and mother and daughter in law etc, she had a hidden motive in order to get to the top. When showering Richard with love, she had from her past experience (her childhood) that the first priority for a mother is to love a child and make him successful and not useless. That overdrove Richard into suicide. And although we can say that Emily loved Richard, Emily also wanted Richard to be the heir of the household instead of Freddy and wanted him to look good. Also, when Emily was a daughter-in-law, she cajoled her mother-in-law by staying by her side, accompanying her to mahjong games and whatever, massaging her shoulders etc. I think that although Emily loved her mother-in-law, she also knew that (cajoling) her mother-in-law was a key to the top of the hierachy. Thank you Chow Wen Kang
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Post by 2chuyongda10 on Jul 9, 2008 7:56:53 GMT -5
I personally feel that Emily is a very caring mother and wife. She did so much for her children and husband. She took care many of their things personally when she could have just left it to the servants. She tried to stop Richard from working at a race course because it is generally agreed that such a job would fetch as much money or have a as good future as being a graduate from a university. She sees to the cleaning of her husband's clothes even though her husband left her for another woman. All of the above shows her care and concern for the family.
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Post by 2bterrechua29 on Jul 9, 2008 8:57:41 GMT -5
Hey all,
I'm back. Lol.
In my opinion, she is indeed a caring mother and wife. However, at times, she can be too strict on her son, Richard, and this is what let to the suicide of Richard. Furthermore, in some scenarios, Emily proved not to be a caring person too.
Firstly, let me elaborate on the reasons why i find her a caring mother and wife. From many scenarios in the play, Emily is indeed a caring mother. For example, she cares a lot about her son. However, this personality of her do have some negative aspects.
At times, Emily can over-concerned about Richard's studies, like how she wanted Richard to do everything strictly according to how Emily would want it to be. Richard was sort of "forced" to go study law overseas. Richard did not state that he did not like to study law at the beginning of the play, this may be because he is still an obedient child and thus, do not want to hurt his mother's feelings. However, it is also because of this, which led Emily to be more and more uncaring about Richard's passion and what he really wanted. Hence, this point proves that Emily can be uncaring at times.
Nevertheless, i feel that if Richard had told his mother his passion and what he actually liked, Emily would not have gone from bad to worse. Hence, it would certainly be a big blow to Emily when Richard suddenly said he had left school to work as a horse riding instructor.
Emily's first reaction to Richard's message is to fly all the way to the horse riding school to confront Richard. Even though this is the main reason that leads to Richard's death, what Emily did still showed that she is a caring mother, who cares a lot about Richard's studies.
All in all, Emily is only a caring mother in terms of how she cared about Richard's education. However, she is still very strict on Richard's studies.
On the other hand, in my opinion, Emily is indeed a caring wife. Even when Kheong had a mistress, she still served him wholeheartedly. Hence, her action shows that she is a caring wife. I believe that not many wives are still able to serve their husbands even when their husbands are having affairs behind their backs.
In conclusion, Emily is a caring wife. However, she is a caring mother to a certain extent.
Cheers, Terre Chua 2B29
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Post by 2afanyi10 on Jul 13, 2008 6:07:44 GMT -5
I think that Emily is more of a "Person of Revenge and Control", due to the fact that when she was young she was bullied by the others, and had not right of her own. Thus when she was grown-up she "took revenge" by having absolute control over everyone in the house. She would tell this this this to somebody and expected that person to do what she asked him/her to do. Also, Emily is a very selfish person. This can be shown through her conversation with Richard. She siad that she was doing all for Richard's good, but she did not think about how Richard would feel, and that Richard also had his own thoughts and feelings and did not like to have everything planned before him. Hence Emily is also a selfish character as she only thought about what she liked, not what others felt.
Openus, Benji
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Post by 2a03benjamintoh on Jul 14, 2008 8:30:30 GMT -5
Emily is a good plotter and waits for good chances to consolidate her power/control. for example , when she enters the Kheong family, she admits that she will only bootlick her parents-in-law. She massages her mother in law in mahjong games and says auspicious words when she plays too. Her parents-in-law are symbolised as the matriach of the family and she takes every opportunity to get closer to her parents-in-law ,especially as Susie is lazy as daughter-in-law. Then she has a son, Richard, who was the eldest son of the eldest son. It helps strengthen her hold on the family. As Emily controls Richard, she indirectly controls the family fortune. She then establishes good ties with those with high social class and involves herself in charity contributions and educates herself so as to portray a good image of herself to her parents-in-law. these are all part of her scheming plans to gain control of the household.
by t he way i think that Emily's plan for Richard to go to be a lawyer was probably another move to strengthen her control as she could tell her parents in law that "See my Richard is so smart. He is a lawyer." Then the parents in law would be more convinced to give Richard the inheritance and power to make decisions.
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Post by 2adanieltan08 on Jul 15, 2008 4:48:45 GMT -5
I think that even though Emily is the one to be held responsible for the deaths of Richard, Kheong and also her own sad plight at the end, I think that it can be possible that Emily was "plotting" her plans to usurp the Gan family's throne subconsciously. Here are a few examples that imply this, but also oppose to this idea.
Firstly, before Emily gave birth to Richard, Emily was leading a very bad life. Her parents left her, with her mother claiming her to be useless as she is not a boy (thus implying sexism). After she was literally "thrown in to the gutter", she was passed from one relative's house to another like unwanted goods, and even her marriage was already decided for her. She could do nothing. She could only be controlled and succumb to fate. Thus. when she arrived in the Gan household, she needed a sense of security and power, so as to not suffer the same fate she had before. Only being the head of the Gan household gave her enough assurance over her past, and that she possibly could be blinded by the immense need for security and self-determination that she subconsciously plotted her way to the top of the household.
However, the fact that Emily planned each of the plans so meticulously, just like her knitting patchwork quilts for the whole family, can possibly imply that she is in fact an usurper in disguise. Her steps, which include being her Mother-in-law's favourite , promoting Kheong to Councilor so she herself can have a better social profile, pulling good relations with the bishop of ACS and many more others all played an important part in her quest for gaining the Gan family "throne"
Lol .. did not know how to conclude all this tough...
-)B@CK~ST@B(- f33l th3 p@1n . t@st3 th3 1njust1c3. Wr1th3 1n @g0ny.
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Post by 2a03benjamintoh on Jul 15, 2008 8:44:50 GMT -5
Perhaps Emily was just doing things according to logical and chronological order. You see , after she was born, she was abandoned by her mother. She feels that family ties are not important after being passed from one relative to another. So she probably finds it logical that as long as oneself's gains are not compromised, it doesnt matter sacrificing another. so she seizes power, meanwhile not bothering too much about what other people actually want.
Then she entered the Gan household and married Kheong. So when she entered the household, she thought that the family might repeat the ordeal again so she tries hard to gain power so that everyone and everything is under her control so she will not be abandoned again. Then she gave birth to Richard. What she probably thought was that, my son is my quick route of gaining power. with her youth years deep in her mind, she probably received the wrong signal that it is okay to sacrifice others for her own need.
this is just another way of analysing Emily's thoughts. Was just writing what came to mind so it mind be a bit haphazard
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Post by 2akennethleong14 on Jul 16, 2008 1:49:38 GMT -5
Hi All =D, I feel that Emily is being a very overcontrolling woman. However, it cannot be all her fault because all she wants is to have a sense of security and to hope that her children gets the best of everything. Emily is a very concerned about her children's growth and therefore she unintentionally controls her children into doing what she thinks is right. She is a very very caring wife and mother, too caring in fact, that in the midst of her caring, she persuades and controls them to do her wishes which other people will not like
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Post by 2chanhao09 on Jul 16, 2008 9:06:46 GMT -5
I feel that Emily is actually a very caring mother but her method of caring is far too strict, leading to several sad events including the suicide of her son. She wanted her son to get he best education and therefore sent her to England to study. However, her son was interested in horses and quitted school to train ponies. Emily heard this and flew over to stop his son begged his to finish his studies before pursuing his dreams. His son was unhappy and listened to his mother and when she went back, he suicided.
This shows that Emily is a caring mother, however for the best of her son, she negated the feelings of others. She wanted her son to get a good education so that he would have a better and brighter future. Emily also felt that if her son stayed with the ponies, his future would be ruined by his interest. She felt that her son would understand that all this is to help him with his future but she would never have guessed that her son would suicide as she had exerted too much control over Richard
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Post by 2bongyuhao17 on Jul 18, 2008 20:56:56 GMT -5
Emily is domineering towards everyone including her husband and her son. Emily is also a cunning daughter-in-law as she helps her mother-in-law not out of sincerity but hoping to get into her good books. She is a caring wife who hopes for the best for Kheong. However most of the time she is too meddlesome in Kheong's affairs.(e.g. She wants Kheong to be the councillor) As a mother, Emily loves her daughters and son dearly. However she loves them to the extent that she restricts their freedom. In the case of Richard, Emily decides who he should invite to his party. Emily makes a good friend. This can seen from the way she treats Bee Choo. When Bee Choo was looking for a new house to stay, Emily asked Mr Fang, a person who they were leasing their house to, to vacate next year. Emily's intention was actually wanting Bee Choo to stay there and to pay a nominal rent. In this case, she was giving up an extra source of income to allow Bee Choo to stay there and pay a nominal rent.
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