Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Historical: A budding female doctor learns to embrace community
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Historical Fiction
Key topics/tropes: Female friendships, motherhood, Chinese history
Grade: Adult
Published: June 6, 2023
Length: 368
Format Read: Ebook
POV: First
Content warnings & important topics (More listed in Spoiler section)
Pregnancy
Medical content
Links
Summary
In 15th century China, Tan Yunxian grows up learning medicine from her grandmother, one of the few female doctors in the country. Meiling is in training to be a midwife. The two girls form a fast friendship, despite the realities that divide them: Yunxian comes from an elite family, while Meiling is working-class; and female doctors are tolerated (though not necessarily respected), while midwives are disdained.
When Yunxian marries, her mother-in-law forbids her from practicing medicine and from associating with Meiling. Desperate to be more than just a proper wife, Yunxian struggles to navigate household politics, her passion for medicine, and the barriers standing between her and Meiling.
Review
📍 Disclaimer: Having read most of Lisa See’s books and commentary on her research practices, I assume Lady Tan has a decent amount of historical accuracy. I only have a casual understanding of the nuances of China’s history and culture, but [perhaps misguidedly] my review will assume everything’s accurate.
I devour all of Lisa See’s sagas and Lady Tan has become my new favorite. See’s signature themes of sisterhood and female friendship were executed in the most moving way yet, with the perfect historical background to support the protagonist’s character development.
I had to be super picky to find at least one valid con from my reading experience. The blurb focuses on Yunxian and Meiling’s friendship, setting up Meiling to be a very central character in Yunxian’s life. Meiling’s present, but just not as much as I expected.
I found Yunxian’s journey and the overall plot to be strong. We jump through time occasionally to follow Yunxian through the four phases of a woman’s life at the time: Milk Days (childhood), Hair-Pinning Days (marriage eligibility), Rice and Salt Days (marriage and motherhood), and Sitting Quietly (old age).
A bulk of the book takes place during Yunxian’s Rice and Salt Days, so I was worried things would get stale. She (and by extension, the readers) are confined to the compound of her husband’s family, as women were traditionally expected to stay out of the public eye. But See introduces plot points that keep domestic compound-life interesting and one key plot point that take us out of the compound into entirely new settings.
The biggest highlight of Lady Tan is the execution of the themes of sisterhood and female friendship, particularly as they intersect with class and status. The varied relationships between female characters are messy, nuanced, and genuine to real-world relationships.
I particularly liked this dialogue from Miss Zhao (concubine of Yunxian’s father) who is accompanying Yunxian to her marital home. Miss Zhao knows Yunxian has learned to see her as her mother’s ‘competition’.
“I am not your mother, and it seems you don’t want me as a friend either, but you might want to reconsider that. When we step over this new threshold, you will know only three people—Poppy, your brother, and me. It’s important for women—and girls—to find friendship and steadfastness where they can. I can be those things for you if you let me.”
Each woman uses their unique status (wife, mother-in-law, concubine, etc.) in deliberate, calculating ways to get what they want, all while [mostly] staying within the confines of their status. Sometimes they help other women along the way and sometimes they hurt them, both of which are realistic expectations of any relationship between women (and humans in general).
Some might read the themes as heavy-handed, but it’s clear from the title that See’s not exactly going for subtlety. This book is about community among women, so you’re going to get women talking about community.
Though the book is targeted at adults, readers have to suspend at least some disbelief and understand certain facts about Yunxian:
She can only be exposed to concepts like allyship as she faces new experiences in adolescence and adulthood,
Her elite upbringing ingrained in her certain views of women (EX: Wives hate concubines, concubines hate each other, maids are nothing but ‘the help’), and
She has to simultaneously unlearn teachings from her early life while learning new lessons about the type of person (and woman) she wants to be.
Yunxian’s circle helps her learn what type of woman she has the potential to be, both by making sure she understands the expectations placed on her as a woman, and by encouraging her not to let those expectations limit her. See has Yunxian’s grandmother express it well:
“I’m irritated with men. I’m lucky to love your grandfather, but most men—other doctors, especially—don’t like to see us succeed. You must always show them respect and let them think they know more than you do, while understanding that you can achieve something they never can. You can actually help women.”
Yunxian’s primary dream is to be a doctor, and she does go on to help women through medical care. But what makes her character journey full is her realization that each woman is more than their station in life. Over time, she learns how to genuinely respect and provide support to women no matter their class or status.
Rereading my notes and highlighted quotes, I’m tearing up at how moved I felt while reading this book. And I want other people to cry too, so I’d recommend Lady Tan if you like:
Stories about complex female friendships / sisterhood
An immersive setting, especially a historical one
Any of Lisa See’s other books
I wouldn’t recommend this if you:
Need a lot of action, since this is slower and more character-focused
Aren’t open to depictions of traditional medicine, because it’s practiced heavily here and taken as the standard of medical care within the setting
Are in a place where it’s difficult to read stories involving trauma around pregnancy and related conditions
Author Rep Notes
Lisa See is part Chinese, through her Chinese great-grandfather.
Character Rep Notes
All of the characters are Chinese.
Notable quotes
“You must speak if you wish to be heard.”
Until tonight, I have never thought about where Poppy came from or even about her feelings, although she knows everything about me, having bathed me, emptied my honeypot, held my forehead when I’ve vomited. I’ve always thought of her as being just my servant—always with me. Now I see she is more than that.
When suffering, how can a woman not feel despair, frustration, or anger—whether rich or poor, educated or illiterate, childless or a mother? In other words, we are all trapped to some extent by our physical and emotional selves, but each woman is trapped in a different way.
🚫 Spoilers ahead
Additional content warnings:
Miscarriage
Child death
Death of parent
Infertility
Abortion
Torture
Murder