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Starting this book, I really felt a dislike for the narrator. She seemed to think she was above everyone else, and the way she treated them was inferior (or at least that's how I took it). Is this a product of culture and how she was raised, meaning you feel like you can forgive her, or is she really just unlikable? Y'all might like her, but for the moment, I just really don't like her attitude

Indeed as the book start the narrator was unlikable, I agree with you, that she was superior than everyone else but, as I continue reading this book, I began liking her character traits, as she started seeing opportunities within her.

Having lived in an Asian culture for three and a half years, I totally feel like it is a product of her culture. As you read further (if you haven't finished yet) you will see a different side of her than at the beginning. It's important to look at what is said, but also what isn't said. In some ways I feel the story followed too many people anyway.

I think that when the story progresses, you get to see more of her side and understand why she is acting or thinking a certain way. I actually like her in so many ways.

The story starts with a narrator who is unlike for everyone from the readers. But with the passage of time she she finds her worth and acknowledges her Infront of other people.

I personally like the narrative, the narrator and the manner in which it is narrated. However, something that bothered me were the shifts in time. the narrator made the story a bit confusing with them.

From the very beginning her attitude was a turn-off to me. She felt unnecessarily condescending and i didnt like that all.

I liked her attitude, it showed just how spoilt she was but at again, it proved that having wealth is not only thing that everyone should aspire in life. When she saw that couple when she was passing through the town is just the right demonstration for that.

I liked her from the beginning.
Maybe it's because I felt sorry for her. The author is a genius in that she made the readers feel exactly the way the lower class people felt about her: dislike initially but she becomes known as a kind, gentle and generous woman by the town, first as a rumor then confirmed by her son's father-in-law

Maybe in the beginning, yes. I expected the attitude from the start as she's a daughter of a prince. Also having watched a lot of shows with this theme, I don't even get turned off anymore. I already know there are something else under that surface. However, it does tell people a lesson about the kind of personality a person develops in that kind of society and class.

Compared to how badly she could have mistreated people around her based on her status, she appeared to be good-natured. I neither liked her nor disliked her, for she behaved exactly how I expected her to behave.

I don't dislike Lady Sougyon, to tell the truth. She is royalty, so she has the right to place herself higher than everyone, especially when most of those around her are indeed inferior to her in social standing (like April, Duman, the servants, or her in-laws). Maybe she appears to be a pampered princess, but that's because her family treats her like one. Besides, I don't think nobles back then would bother to talk to their retainers like she does, and they wouldn't be so forgiving either. Her letting April's man go without punishment is proof that Lady Sougyon is quite likable. This is why her servants are loyal to her, and she maintains good relationships with her family as well as the ladies in the palace.

As for her marriage, she is but another victim of her father's thinkings and of feudalism, where children (especially girls) had to obey their parents. Embon's husband resented Lady Sougyon because of that arranged marriage, yet it's him who didn't have the guts to elope with the one he loved. What's more, he is shameless enough to leech off of his wife. Due to this, I believe she is allowed to look down on him.

lavkathleen wrote: ↑12 Jan 2021, 00:48 Maybe in the beginning, yes. I expected the attitude from the start as she's a daughter of a prince. Also having watched a lot of shows with this theme, I don't even get turned off anymore. I already know there are something else under that surface. However, it does tell people a lesson about the kind of personality a person develops in that kind of society and class.

I agree with you! I think it is really interesting how society and class can impact on someone's upbringing and how that can change their behaviour towards others!

It really just depends on how far you read into the book. In the beginning, it was really hard to like the narrator but as you keep reading the narrator starts to grow on you and becomes more likable in time.

I like Lady Sougyon a lot. I think what might be perceived as arrogance is a matter of the way Korean society was built. And she's smart. I don't know if you already read the part where she talks to the King, for example. She is also compassionate, as you'll see later on. I don't want to spoil it for you.