Shi sees marriage as the ultimate goal for his daughter, describing her as a lychee that is past its prime. Li demonstrates that while fathers can become angry at any child for the ways they replicate their mistakes, in the case of a daughter, a father’s disappointment can be inflected with the rigid expectations applied to women’s conduct. Shi is particularly upset with her not only because she is his child and because he is angry at himself for the same behavior, but also because she is a woman and therefore he holds her to different standards. Shi has complicated feelings about the ways in which his daughter has grown up to be like him: they both had similar extramarital affairs, both feel very dedicated to their work, and both accuse each other of being too quiet when they are trying to conceal their feelings.
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