Sublime

Spoiled by her father, she imagined that spoiling her was natural—that all men should do the same. The consequence was that, like a child, she never felt she had to try to please. It was Cora’s powerful air of independence that made men want to possess her, tame her.

Hai Ruo exclaims in delight at the gifts. She begins to take the doll apart: inside it is another, and another and another. "Amazing! One woman turns into five!"

"That's you," says Eva. "Wife, mother, teashop owner, head of the family, the sisterhood's big sister."