The tendency of children to disobey familial rules has been repeated timelessly throughout history. The famous story of star-crossed lovers, such as Romeo and Juliet, shows how external expectations suffocate personal beliefs. The timeless truth, however, is evident not only in western literature, but also in stories taking place in ancient China. In the novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, author Lisa See captures the protagonist Snow Flower’s conflicts with societal rules to convey Snow Flower’s society’s propensity to value the idea of preference of men over women. 
"Still births [of a son is] considered dreadful” which can be directly contrasted by women’s indifference “if the child was a girl” (166). This illustrates people’s neglect toward females. Mourning for deaths of boys explains the societal desire of males over females, since they are viewed as having more worth. People of the ancient China supposedly feel appreciative for stillborn girls, since they are not in need of “another worthless mouth to feed,” which emphasizes women’s lack of worth in families and society (166).
In contrast to her societal belief, Snow Flower struggles through the miscarriage of her daughter, which is shown through her inability to “vent [her] sorrow [of losing her own daughter]” (166). Hearing of this unusual emotion of Snow Flower’s, her laotong (her sworn sister for life), Lily, “[is] bewildered that Snow Flower [feels] the way she [does],” and when Snow Flower speaks of her true overwhelming sadness concerning the death of her daughter, Lily “[does not] know how to respond” due to the disturbance disobeying their society’s value gives her (166). Snow Flower’s alienation by Lily emphasizes Snow Flower’s seemingly unexpected act of caring for miscarriages of daughters despite the original custom. Craving a boy before a girl iterates the predilection of men in families and societies and conveys the misogyny of women in original Chinese society. Lily’s alienation of Snow Flower helps to emphasize how a break from the traditional views of society can be misunderstood and misconstrued.
Through Snow Flower’s lifelong struggle with people of her society, the preeminence and preference of men is clearly expressed throughout the novel. In Snow Flower’s society, people expects others to mourn for death of a boy rather than a girl. When Snow Flower reveals her conflicting feelings toward her miscarriage of her daughter, Lily alienates her; Snow Flower’s alienation allows one to see that although a woman herself, Lily still follows the way she was taught to accept the death of a daughter. From Adam and Eve, to Romeo and Juliet, to Bonnie and Clyde, children have been disobeying their superior being, as Snow Flower rebels against the belief of her society.