#so when i started my hana lee: a study in erasure series (for those who haven't read it yet and want to it's the pinned post on my blog)

[lizzybeth1986]

.

[lizzybeth1986]

So, Who Is Hana Lee?

Hana Lee: A Study in Erasure (full series)

These are the character descriptions given for TRR's four LIs. Interestingly, for the three male LIs, the descriptors list one trait that is personality-specific (dashing. sarcastic. humourous), and one that outlines their approach to relationships with their loved ones (honourable. steadfast. loyal). 

What does Hana get? "Talented and beautiful". That tells us nothing about either her personality, nor her approach to relationships. It's about what the MC is drawn to, and what the MC can use her for. When you look at this description from that lens, the writing for Hana begins to make so much more sense.

So besides those two things...what do we know about Hana Lee? Besides the tragedy of her upbringing, the sadness that many people (myself included, sometimes) can't seem to look past? Off the top of my head, I can think of a number of facets to her personality beyond her sad childhood and her sweetness.

I think it's essential we start here, because often in the process of emphasizing the more dramatic parts of her story, we tend to miss out on things that make Hana a fuller character. Here are just a few things that come to mind when I think of her story:

Passionate:

The great thing about this quote from Liam is that you can see how it plays out in Hana's reactions. Compare how she speaks about ice skating in Book 1, to her piano playing one chapter later. You can tell what she is genuinely fond of doing from what she does just because she knows how to do it well. When she is passionate about something, she guards it fiercely (think back to how she got her parents to stop trotting her out for public piano performances). This dictates her approach to people as well. She goes all out for those she loves, even to the point of leaving her entire home after she has defended a loved one to her parents.

Exploratory:

Hana's story, in its simplest form, was supposed to be a story of self-discovery. She spent a large portion of her life alone with her parents, no siblings or friends, and with very few avenues for creative expression. Even as a child with plenty of restrictions and rules to follow, she found ways to explore interests that she knew her parents wouldn't necessarily approve of (we see this in the reading material she shows us from her childhood). As an adult, she is at first confused and fearful of the uncertainty of her future, but grows to be happy about the possibilities for her. It is a pity that the narrative itself restricts this to what benefits the MC later on, but one cannot deny that the core of Hana's story is meant to be about discovering who she is independent of her parents.

Small But Rebellious Streak:

Closely connected to her exploratory nature, are her small rebellions. Very often the narrative shows this through the books she tells us she's read (Wuthering Heights, which was a controversial text back when it was released, but TRH also has her tell us - if married - that she secretly read science fiction books by pretending they were tomes on astronomy). Another good example of this is the iconic piano scene, where she secretly pushes back against her parents for turning her piano skills into constant public performance that she did not consent to. Hana isn't one for grand defiance - she shows her independence through small, secret rebellions.

Competitive: 

This is one of my favourite things about her, in fact. She may be kind and giving but that doesn't mean she won't be a fierce competitor. Her initial reaction to a lot of these situations is to thrive in the challenge and enjoy, to the point where she spiritedly spars with her opponent before "remembering her manners". It's clear that she loves being challenged, and often gets lost in the spirit of a game. She brings this quality to her fighting technique as well.

Stealthy:

This aspect of Hana is at its best in TRR2, when she takes over the latter part of the investigations during the engagement tour. I'll probably elaborate on this in a future section, but very often we find Hana delivering to us information that she's gleaned just from staying quiet and reading the room. Often she's provided us the best tips this way. Her passion for research also helps her in this, when her research has her looking up royalty from neighbouring countries.

It's the ultimate irony, then, that the writing team itself forgets this in their latter books.

Emotional:

This aspect of Hana's is often juxtaposed with Olivia's militaristic notions of strength (Olivia is also emotional on a level, but has grown up learning that she cannot "show weakness"). She cries openly, loves freely, and while she does repress her emotions on some level, she doesn't do it to the scale Liam does. In fact, it is said that you can easily tell from her eyes and body language when she is passionate about something. She is referred to (esp by Olivia, and often in a way that's meant to be insulting) as "delicate". Yet it is clear that her empathy and sincerity sets her apart in court, allowing her to see her fellow courtiers as even they do not see themselves (an example of this would be the scene where she gives Penelope advice in TRR2 Chapter 6). This above dialogue from TRH2 shows her owning her emotional side, and telling us it is as valid as Olivia's "strength".

Prim-and-Proper with A Love for Occasional Mess

While this is also tied to her childhood, it's interesting to note that she's still comfortable in her "manners", but likes to to embrace mess either as catharsis (she shares this tendency with Liam), or when the occasion demands. She is initially dumbfounded by foods such as sloppy joes or barbecue ribs, but gets surprisingly into it once she starts eating. Like Liam, she also views food fights as cathartic, and it fires her competitive instincts.

Kind but Firm

This screenshot is from Hana's first diamond scene, and she holds herself true to this sentiment for the rest of the series. When the narrative allows (which isn't often), she has her own unique way of pushing back - one where she states firmly that she doesn't appreciate their behaviour while not disrespecting them. When she fights back, she likes to do it in a way that causes the least harm but still gets her point across.

So why do people who harm her, or look down on her, seem to get away with it so easily? I'll address that in a later section.

Subtle When She Drags You

(You can tell she'd been sitting on that gem ever since that dinner in Shanghai!)

One of my favourite Hana posts is a compilation of pics depicting Hana poking fun at Drake. It's one that highlighted how, again and again, Hana could surprise you with her humour and her obsevation skills. @callmetippytumbles once said it better than I ever could:

You think that Hana is all soft voice, demure smile and all of the submissive Asian stereotypes. Go on. Think that. Don’t be fooled. Hana is watching. Biding her time. Then she comes out of nowhere and tells you all about yourself and you have no choice but to sit with her truth. She is a savage. I live.

Olivia, too, winds up once at the receiving end of a Hana takedown. In Hana's final diamond scene in Book 1, she practically leaves Olivia speechless when she tells her exactly what she thinks of her behaviour.

Hana may be nice to a fault. May be accomodating, may want to give other people the benefit of the doubt. But she will drag your ass if you absolutely deserve it!

Unlearning What Healthy Control Looks Like

Unfortunately this is an aspect of Hana that only features in her romantic playthrough, and only for two chapters in Book 3. A lot of Hana's growth comes from being a child of controlling parents, slowly understanding that her upbringing wasn't healthy. Because of this, she is overcautious and even anxious about taking control, equating it on two occasions to robbing her partner of a choice. It was one of my favourite 'character development' moments, and it was sad that they never actually did anything more with it in the series.

--

At her core, Hana Lee has always been a character who didn't realize how messed up her upbringing was until she met other people, made friends, fell in love, started doing things most other people considered normal. She is a Chinese woman who was brought up to adopt European mores. She lived a closeted life (both in terms of her sexuality and her general outlook) but still found ways to satisfy her curiosity. She struggles with decisiveness, struggles to understand what is a healthy amount of control, but embraces other perspectives and experiences that are alien to her. She's someone who finds it difficult to completely break away from her controlling parents, but pushes back at them once she realizes how wrong they are. She is inherently a kind person who is surviving in a court that doesn't always respect her.

But if she's so great, I can hear some of you say, then how can you claim she's been erased?

And that's a good question. Despite being a strong, consistent character with some element of a journey, why is she so often considered weak, or dependent on other people, or just plain bland? Why does it feel like very little has happened with her story after she breaks away from her parents?

Well...to understand that, we need to look at how narrative structure positions her. The next two sections of this essay deal with exactly that.

Next: A Book by Book Breakdown of Hana Lee - Part One