It is clear in “Lust Caution” that Chia-chih’s “weapon” …show more content…
In order to convincingly play her role as a wife, Chia-chih has to sleep with the only one of her compatriots to have actual sexual experience, whom she loathes. “Of course. He was the only one who had been inside a brothel. But given that she had already determined to make a sacrifice of herself, she couldn’t very well resent him for being the only candidate for the job.” (Chang 24) The key here is that she makes “a sacrifice of herself”. In order to take part in this plan, Chia-chih has to pay the cost, which in this case is losing her virginity (which at the time, was significant), sleep with a man she loathes, and risk getting an STD: “For a long time, she agonized over whether she had caught something from Liang Jun-sheng” (Chang 27). The sacrifice Chia-chih makes only cements the value of her body. If it had no value, it would be no sacrifice to use it. The fact that Chia-chih considers this act to be a sacrifice indicates the high value society places on the bodies of