In what ways does Li contrast her own expressions of grief with those of literary characters like Constance in King John and the characters in Euripides’ plays, and what does this reveal about her understanding of mourning?

Li repeatedly sets her own restrained response to loss against the expansive, vocal grief of figures such as Constance in King John and the mourning characters in Euripides. These literary figures cry out and insist on being heard, whereas Li emphasises her composure and her lack of outward emotional display. She is never struck dumb by grief, nor does she enact it publicly. This contrast reveals that Li understands mourning as something that can exist fully without performance. Literary grief offers her a vocabulary and a point of recognition, but it also highlights the distance between cultural expressions of sorrow and her own inward, disciplined way of enduring loss.

What is the significance of moments that illustrate her children’s individuality, such as Vincent wearing a dress to school, in the context of Li’s reflections on parental respect, protection, and the limits of control?