Letter #86 (page 360-367)
30 January 1966
First Month, Tenth Day
Year of the Horse
This letter is written by Suang U sometime after all of his children but Meng Chu have gotten married. In this letter, Suang U writes about his conversation with Winyu, a Thai schoolteacher soon to be married to Meng Chu, Suang U’s youngest child and with Ang Buai, still about the matter of choosing the race of the husband for one of his daughters. Again in this letter, just like previously before, Suang U tries to convince himself about the truth of his stereotype about Chinese, Thai and farangs.
Apparently, now, 50 letters after letter #35, Suang U is feeling disappointed about his children. Weng Khim, from whom he expects the most has disgraced his family and according to Weng Khim himself, it is because “It was the only time in my life I ever got what I wanted the way I wanted and on my terms.” (Page 338). Chui Kim, who is married to a rich Chinese man does not really care about him anymore and Bak Li, too, has brought disgrace and the situation forced her to marry an incompetent Chinese man. He wonders whether there is something wrong with his method of educating or not.
At the beginning paragraphs of his letter, he mentioned “There is one person who does try to understand why I write these letters, and oddly enough it is Winyu the schoolteacher, who hopes to marry my Meng Chu.” (Page 361). There is a sense of queerness in his tone when he says this and it is because Suang U never expects that a Thai man will say something wise like this, not a Thai man of his stereotype about them. Winyu is an open-minded man, who never hesitates to “borrow an idea” if it is good. Later on, Winyu’s confesses about his thoughts about Chinese and how he wants to avoid getting along with a Chinese father in-law after he’s married. He mentions “The things you believe about Thai men are as unfair as the old saw that all Chinese are greedy chiselers.” (Page 362) and “What I do not like is the fact that you came to my country and got rich in my country, and now you sit there and tell me I can’t marry your daughter…Your attitude toward your place in our society I frankly detest.” In other words, Winyu expects Suang U to open his mind and erase his stereotype about Thai men and to receive more of other people’s ideas. Later, hoping that his sister in-law would understand him, he tells Ang Buai that he thinks Meng Chu rather marries a Chinese ice cream vendor than an intelligent Thai schoolteacher. This time, just like Ang Buai before, she is in Meng Chu and Winyu’s side, making Suang U feel “humiliated and lonely”.
This plot change, beginning from the fate of marriage of three of his children and ending at his discussion with Winyu in this letter is meant to “confront” Suang U’s feeling of being superior and to point out his wrong perceptions. Winyu is used to modify the character of Suang U to lead the story to the point that Suang U realizes his mistake and starting to become more humble and feeling less superior and racist. This is a change for the better and it signifies another learning point of Suang U. Although at the end of the letter Suang U is still stubborn, in the next letters, Suang U starts to think about this and thanks to the further plot that shows that among his children, Meng Chu and his husband cares for him the most, he, at last changes.
