Letter from Fanny to Ah Toy

My dear Ah Toy,

Oh, how your actions and your words have made me so confused and agitated! Though you are gone now, I feel that I must write to you anyway, and hope that somehow my words reach you wherever you are.

You were a wonderful servant. As time went on, I grew to care for you, like my mother grew to care for her servant, and that is why I took care of you when you fell ill, and why I allowed you to join our circle when my brother-in-law was away on business. But in this world, there are lines and boundaries, and you had crossed yours. I felt obligated to dismiss you because it is not allowed for a woman like me to be with a servant and a man like you. I may have loved you, I don’t know, but even if I did, I didn’t love you like that. There is much tension in the world right now with Chinese immigrants and even Irish immigrants and I must follow the ways of the world.

Yet I felt so guilty when I heard what you had done, that you had ended your life, after I had dismissed you! I was devastated and it was my fault that you had to meet such an end when you had so many years before you! How I wished you didn’t cross the line and had not done what you did! We could have still been some sort of a family. But your words and actions have made me really think about America’s relationship with its immigrant population and right now, I can’t really understand why it is like this. You were a good person and a good servant.

I want to let you know that I’m sorry that I was not more conscious of my actions and my own words. I feel responsible for your death. I will not forget you and what you’ve done to help my family.

May you rest in peace,

Fanny

Question 1) How does the idea of the third sex during the late 1800s compare with a similar idea today? Is there such a thing as a third sex in the United States in the 21st century? Although men and women may have some gender differences, does the idea of a man in a job that is/was considered women’s work still looked down today? How does it affect class and gender relations as well as race relations?

Question 2) Immigration has been a problem for America from the very beginning, and thus race has been an issue as well. How does America’s initial choice to allow for immigration only to restrict it later affect its relations with other countries? How does it affect race relations between individuals in America? Is the idea of racial equality ever going to be realized in America? If so, how and when?