On a Chinese Screen · Chapter
XVI: The Nun explained
The narrator visits a convent on a hill, meeting the Mother Superior, a Basque nun who has lived in China for twenty years.
What happens
The narrator visits a convent on a hill, meeting the Mother Superior, a Basque nun who has lived in China for twenty years. She shows the orphans making lace and the hospital with sick soldiers. She reflects on the kindness of the Chinese, though with limitations, and the narrator muses on her wisdom about not expecting more than people can give.
Themes in this chapter
Cultural Clash and Misunderstanding
The Mother Superior's observations about Chinese attitudes toward nuns and the limits of gratitude highlight cultural differences in gender roles and expectations.
Colonial Ennui and Isolation
The Mother Superior's longing for the sea and her native Basque country, despite her dedication, underscores the isolation of expatriate life in China.
Characters to notice
- The Stranger
The narrator who visits the convent and converses with the Mother Superior.
Key passages
“The convent lay white and cool among the trees on the top of a hill; and as I stood at the gateway, waiting to be let in, I looked down at the tawny river glittering in the sunlight and at the rugged mountains beyond.”
The white convent sat coolly on a hilltop, and from the gate I gazed at the glittering river and distant mountains.
Opening description establishing the serene setting.
“She said that it was hard sometimes never to see the sea; here on the great river they were a thousand miles away from it; and because I knew the country where she was born she talked to me a little of the fine roads that led over the mountains—ah, they did not have them here in China—and the vineyards and the pleasant villages with their running streams that nestled at the foot of the hills.”
She confessed her longing for the sea, being a thousand miles inland, and reminisced about the roads, vineyards, and villages of her Basque homeland.
Reveals the Mother Superior's nostalgia and isolation.
““You must not ask from people more than they are capable of giving.” How true, and yet how hard to remember!”
The narrator reflects on the Mother Superior's advice not to expect more from people than they can offer, acknowledging its truth and difficulty.
Key thematic insight about human limitations and acceptance.