Remembering Eunice Tietjens #7 – My Servant

In 1915, or thereabouts, Eunice Tietjens was staying at a Christian mission station in Wusih (Wuxi) in Jiangsu…clearly she had a servant of a certain age with bound feet…

My Servant

The feet of my servant thump on the floor.

Thump, they go, and thump – dully, deformedly.

My servant has shown me her feet.

The instep has been broken upward into a bony cushion. The big toe is pointed as an awl. The small toes are folded under the cushioned instep. Only the heel is untouched.

The thing is white and bloodless with the pallor of dead flesh.

But my servant is quite contented.

She smiles toothlessly and shows me how small are her feet, her “golden lillies.”

Thump, they go, and thump!

Wusih