Aussie Foxes Book Tour Responses

As a mother, I can’t imagine subjecting my child to anything like foot
binding for the sake of societal acceptance. Do you think there are any
practices in today’s world that might indicate a similar symbol of female status in our society? What are they?

I am not sure if we have any practices in our society today which force us to subject our children (daughters) to such horrendous pain. However, is life not cruel enough to our children without us inflicting the pain ourselves? Bullying, sports, education, clothes, popularity, disabilities and money are only a few of the things our children will endure in their lifetimes that will cause them pain and cause us pain in return to watch them have to endure these things. I also could not imagine sending my daughter (or son) off to marry into a family and know they would not be treated properly and have to be a slave or be treated cruelly just because she is a female.

Why was Lily so forgiving of Snow Flower and her betrayal, yet so angry with
her family and Madame Wang? Isn't the betrayal the same? Why are we so
forgiving of friends but not of family members?

I think maybe Lily was so forgiving of Snow Flower and not her family as maybe we have more trust and love for our family and therefore we expect more from them? I was shocked that Lily was able to shut out her mother with such ease. But then the more I thought about it, the more I realised that
the relationship between mothers and daughters was completely different than it is now. Girl children were a burden on their families and perhaps since they were not showed love and affection from their families, it was easier to turn their back on the family. The relationship Lily had with Snow Flower was one she never experienced with her family. The love and affection was something Lily had never encountered before and would never encounter again.

How do you feel about the concept of "old sames" (being in an arranged
friendship)? Were you surprised at the way it turned out for Lily and Snow
Flower? Have you found yourself in a "sisterhood" kind of friendship
throughout your life? How was it able to last through all of the changes you
have gone through in your life?

I think the concept of “old sames” could be a beautiful thing. However, as we saw in the book – the girls ended up betraying each other and hurting each other in the worst possible way. I am not sure there is any way for two women to have a friendship and for it not to end in heartache at some point. I am not surprised at the way things turned out between the girls. Their whole friendship was based on lies from the very beginning. Trust is a sacred thing and it is impossible to trust someone completely who has lied to you in the past.