Emily of Emerald Hill

Emily of Emerald Hill is a novel based on a play. It features Emily as the only real actor, while all other characters are made known due to the actions of Emily.

This book tells us the life story of Emily, from the time she was abandoned by her mother to the time she grows old and suffers dementia. It portrays Emily as a traditional peranakan woman, one who believes that a woman must be a housewife and a mother, taking care of the family. Emily shows the perfectly because she was a perfect wife but a over-controlling mother. She is a perfect wife because even though her husband does not love her anymore, and has a mistress, she does not abandon her role as a wife. She continues to send him food, clean clothes, indirectly caring for him.

I feel that this book increases our knowledge of olden Singapore. Before reading this book, the only old Singapore I knew was the one under Sir Stamford Raffles and the one during the Japanese occupation. I had no idea about the cultures in Singapore. After reading this book, I realised that Singapore is closely linked to Malaysia in the olden times-the peranakan culture. The peranakan culture shows us the Nyonya way of life. The book also shows us the traditional roles of a woman and the sexist attitude in the olden days. There are also many themes like relationships and tradition.