An Analysis of the Character Du Tenth in the poem Essay

Du Mei is the lead female character in Feng Meng-Longs poem Du nonpareil-tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger. She was a famous courtesan belonging to one of the brothels located in the Federal capital of China during the Ming Dynasty. Du Mei was likewise known as Du ten percent by virtue of beingness the tenth-born of her generation (837). She was described to be exceedingly attractive and wholeuring. Her beauty was said to be flawless and could only be compared to what is intimately beautiful in nature. Below is an excerpt from the poem devil arcs of eyebrow traced with green of distant hillsa pair of eyes nitid with welling autumn floods. Face like a lotus bud fairish like Wen-jun of the Zhou clan Lips like cherries (837) Her reputation was so notable that a jingle was composed in her honor which remarked on her incumbrance on men and how new(prenominal) women pale beside her. Du one-tenth exhibited no qualms nigh taking advantage of her charms. She was more cunnin g than coy. From the age of thirteen when she bewildered her virginity and up until the age of nineteen when she met and chose her favored sleep withr Li Jia, she charmed men and controlled them to squander their circles on her.Her cunning once more came to the foremost as she negotiated the terms of her freedom. As her greedy brothel keeper was trying to bullshit her to get rid of Li Jia who by that time had run forth of specie, Du Tenth outmaneuvered her and pounced on the prattle of her madam about Li acquire her freedom. She laped on the madams innate skepticism and managed to get the scathe down and extend the deadline from three days to ten days. She even got the madam to commit to her word. She likewise worked on Li to commit to his word to secure her freedom and to take her away with him as his wife and start a new life.More so at that time, having a former bawd as a wife was unacceptable to polite society and most especially to political families to which Li Ji a was a member of. Du Tenth also showed her romantic side and her sense of loyalty by sticking beside Li in spite of his lack of financial capability, his weak personality and many shortcomings. She nudged him on and encouraged him by putting up half of the buy-out money and allowing him to save face by giving him the opportunity to complete the other half. She was able to accomplish this without causing undue embarrassment to him.She was level-headed and showed strength in her demeanor not even once shedding tears of defeat unlike Li who cried in torrents. Not once did she waiver on her objective. She was able to deliberate her actions, carefully plan each step and pass judgment every need that may come up in her spare-time activity for a new life with Li. She also expressed gratitude freely and bad lasting relationships with her sisters in the quarters instead of envy and enmity for being far beautiful than they. Du Tenths intelligence and womans guile further manifested itse lf during her travel with Li.She made suggestions instead of outright commands on the best steps to take to gain acceptance back into his family. She present a keen sense of self-control. She kept her cards close to government agency and did not reveal all her plans to Li perhaps in the entrust that he just might be able to come up with a plan on his own that would benefit them both. However, in return, he betrayed her instead to cheer Fu. Sun belonged to a family of salt merchants who harbored a venomed intent towards Du Tenth after hearing her excellent singing. Li betrayed her to Sun by revealing her as a whore and he again betrayed her by selling her off for a thousand taels.Upon learning of this high treason from Li herself, Du Tenth continued to outwardly look calm and lay in while seething inside from disappointment and rage. True to form, Li bewildered the sarcasm of her remark, The man who devised this plan for you is truly a great hero. The fortune of a thousand ta els will enable you to restore your position in your family, and I will go to another man so as not to be a burden to you (852). Regardless, she continued to harbor foretaste that Li might see the fallacy of his ways and fight for their love as she did. However, as soon as the thousand taels exchanged hands, her rage boiled over.She was a woman scorned and she showed her anger in the resembling deliberate way she acted all her life. Her actions were controlled and measured. She did not scream and throw a fit. Instead, the embarrassment that she had been saving Li from, she finally apply against him to maximum effect. She used her cunning and maneuvered to gather as much of a crowd as she can by gradually producing her precious jewelry and with spectacle, threw them overboard one by one. Once she had the attention of the crowd, she cursed Sun and unleashed her disdain for Li. She announced his betrayal of the devoted and everlasting love that she offered.She drove home his error in accepting the thousand taels and made it known to him that with her, he could pretend had more had he only shown the same loyalty and faithfulness. She had coped with a grim life and Li further shamed her by casting her aside. In revenge, she shamed both by jumping into the river and drowned herself. Yet, even in death, she showed her gratitude for the almsgiving she had received while living. Liu Yu-chun, Li Jias friend who actually raised(a) the remaining half of the buy-out money, found himself at the other end of Du Tenths eternal gratitude.It was because of him, he who believed in the power of the love and idolatry that she had for Li, that she was able to experience life of a free woman, albeit fleeting, without the indignity of being a whore. In return, Du Tenth gifted him with the remaining contents of her jewel box. Du Tenth was a cunning and strong-willed woman. She knew what she wanted, had the ability to devise plans and was willing to work on the means to get i t. Regardless, she had not failed to show appreciation to all those who helped her along the way. Her experience as a courtesan should have left over(p) her jaded. Yet, deep inside, she remained a romantic at heart.