Mrs Spring Fragrance

Ah Oi, the daughter of a fisherman, is a “despised actress in an American Chinatown” (135). She is lying on the floor of her room, looking through her window when her reverie is broken by footsteps outside her door. Her friend Mag-gee has been crying so hard that her makeup is smeared, giving her “a strange appearance” (135). Mag-gee, who is half Chinese and half white, tells Ah Oi: “I am to be married tonight to a Chinaman whom I have never seen” (135). Mag-gee says harsh things about Chinese men, but Ah Oi does not seem to take offense. Ah Oi quickly comes up with a plan to save her friend from this arranged marriage.

Ah Oi stands in for Mag-gee at the wedding. When the veil is lifted, there is “a wild cry of anger and surprise” (136). Wedding guests point at Ah Oi and cry out, “The Sing Song Woman! The Sing Song Woman!” (136). The outcry confuses the groom, Ke Leang, who has never met Mag-gee. Mag-gee’s father, Hwuy Yen, walks threateningly toward Ah Oi, and Ke Leang stands between the “father-in-law” and his new bride, protecting her from the man’s anger.