A Virgin Bride

The story of "The Bridegroom by Ha Jin was quite and interesting one that definitely kept my concentration and curiosity high. So many things in this story bothered me. It was all the injustice presented to Baowen just for simply being homosexual. Granted, I'm not a Gay Rights advocate, having a moderately conservative stance in politics, but I do believe that homosexuals should not be treated like Baowen was in this story. I was shocked (no pun intended) when I was reading about the treatment that he was given. The very fact that he was sent to a mental hospital and then to jail really points out our tendency towards ignorance as human beings...although maybe I now sounds like a hypocrite by saying that because I'm not completley pro-gay if you will. But, I simply believe this is a sin that people deal with. I don't necessarily believe in a "gay gene." I think there can be a tendency to become gay as a younger child, as Baowen probably did, because of cultural influences. Such as, "well that little boy really likes pink, so he must be gay." Then his entire life, if he maintains an effeminate personality people make rude remarks, especially during the excruciating years of middle and high school, calling the young man gay and he may question his own sexuality. But anyway, that was a tangent where I laid out my beliefs i suppose...probably superfulous.

As I was reading this story, my heart really broke for Beina. The poor girl isn't that pretty, and her uncle is even swift to say so, in fact he was surprised when she got a wedding proposal and was going to do whatever it took for her to stay married. But the poor girl was a little bit naive and didn't realize she was marrying someone who was homosexual. But her reaction to the truth was absolutely amazing. If something like this had happened to me, I would be down right devastated! But she handled the situation with complete grace and even said, "Don't feel so bad, Uncle. He's better than a normal man" (page 101). She doesn't care about the sex, the romance, or the intimacy, all she wants is a man to keep her company at home. I can't decide whether this situation is extremely sad or a good thing. Because this definitely shows that she's complacent with what she has, which those of us who search for romantic love are usually searching for something more, but Beina is completely happy. It's interesting to me.

It was just really hard to read something where the doctor knew that there wasn't a "cure" to homosexuality but they were still sending Baowen to electric baths. It just reminds me of all the unfairness to others we've fallen to as human beings throughout history such as the slave trade, the holocaust, Japanese camps in the United States, and just simple prejudice. It's something we have to push past because this is what can happen when it gets out of control. A situation such as this one where a perfectly content and happy woman was broken apart from her husband because of an act that was considered a crime because of prejudices.