Sealed off as a Break from Daily Routine

【Abstract】The setting of the story “Sealed Off”， written by Zhang Ailing， is Shanghai during the 1940s. During the sealed-off period， both Cuiyuan and Zongzhen have the opportunity to step out of their normal societal roles. This special time enables both of them to take a break from their daily routine， but they use this time differently.

【Key Words】Sealed off； Zhang Ailing

【作者简介】莫子又（1997-），女，汉族，广东人，中國人民大学外国语学院，本科生，研究方向：英语语言文学。

Cuiyuan and Zongzhen meet each other in a tram car when the city is sealed because of an air raid. This state allows for the occurrence of things that would not happen under normal circumstances. Cuiyuan， who thinks critically about her career， her family， and herself， struggles to break free from societal limitations， while Zongzhen enjoys temporary comforts and contents himself with the realities of society.

Cuiyuan faces limitations to her own behaviors and thoughts because of societys expectations of how women ought to think and act. She follows her parents instructions and studies hard as a student. She holds herself to high moral standards. Cuiyuan limits herself by meeting the societal expectations set for her.

Cuiyuan also faces limitations because of the societal expectation that woman must marry. Her parents wanting a rich husband for her implies that they would rather her husband support the whole family than Cuiyuan pursuing her own career. Despite some improvement of womens social status at that time， society still expected women to rely upon their husbands.

Cuiyuan faces discrimination in her job on the basis of her gender and does not receive the same respect that male teachers receive. Even though Cuiyuan is a well-educated woman， her students doubt her ability and question her authority. Despite the fact that she performs her job just as well as her male counterparts， Cuiyuan struggles with simply keeping her students in line. In short， society views education as a way for women to better understand and communicate rather than a means to enable women to pursue their own ambitions.

While women face myriad limitations to their life choices because of societal pressures and expectations， Zongzhen faces a different set of limitations as a man. Society forces Zongzhen to live a boring and monotonous life as the head of a household. Zongzhen has no choice but to repeat his everyday life to support his family rather than pursuing his personal interests and goals. Despite the fact that he does not enjoy what he is doing， he does it without thinking too much because it is what society expects a man to do.

While most people find ways to distract themselves from thinking， Cuiyuan takes time during the sealed-off period to think about the way she lives her life. She questions herself， tries to explain herself， and eventually finds answers for herself. She realizes that she receives poor treatment in school and at home. The idea of disobeying her parents and making them angry satisfies Cuiyuans desire to be a real person， who acts on ones own thoughts， emotions， and feelings. Cuiyuan shows her determination to transcend the limitations in a rebellious but real way.

During this special time， unlike Cuiyuan who struggles to break the limits， Zongzhen just wants a short break from his monotonous routine. Zongzhen accidentally sits next to Cuiyuan. He unintentionally starts his conversation with Cuiyuan， and he unexpectedly gets some comfort from her after confiding in her about the struggles in his monotonous life. Although Zongzhen enjoys the break from his routine， he is not ready to change the reality of his situation. In regard to remarrying， Zongzhen says he can neither get a divorce nor take a concubine. There are many barriers preventing Zongzhen from pursuing his own happiness. As a father， he has to consider his childrens well-being. Zongzhen makes compromises and gives up changing the situation before he even takes any action. Throughout their conservation， Zongzhen never forgets that he is married， he is old， and he does not have much money. He does not ask Cuiyuan for her attitudes and opinions. He remains very practical because he does not mean to put an end to his normal and boring life in the first place. He is simply taking a break.

Trapped in their societal roles， both Cuiyuan and Zongzhen face many limitations in 1940s Shanghai. While many people resign themselves to repeating their normal routines， Cuiyuan and Zongzhen take the time to act differently from how they usually act. Cuiyuan seizes this opportunity struggling to break free of her limitations while Zongzhen simply enjoys the temporary comfort he gets from Cuiyuan. Expressing his desire to Cuiyuan is enough for Zongzhen to satisfy his dissatisfaction. However， Cuiyuan rebels and wants to actually do something to change her situation. Cuiyuan gains the potential to act rebelliously while Zongzhen hopelessly confirms that those barriers between his responsibility and his happiness are impossible to overcome.