Dai references many Western authors and works in addition to the titular Balzac. What is the significance of these chosen titles/writers, and how do they contribute to the exploration of the novel’s key themes and ideas? Why does he use Western literature instead of, say, Chinese literature?

Analyze the relationship dynamics between Luo, the Narrator, and the Little Seamstress. How do the connections between the members of this trio reflect the novel’s thematic preoccupation with platonic and romantic bonds? How do the bonds within this trio reflect or contrast with one another?

Dai provides detailed descriptions of nature and landscape through the course of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, creating a vivid rural setting for the re-education of his protagonists. How is the setting depicted? What is the wider significance of this setting in the text?