We can understand her, but cannot forgive her.
Summary:
- Fengxian is a very complicated character.
- She did horrible things to Maomao.
- Fengxian had a rough life, so fans still feel sorry for her.
Fengxian is hardly anyone’s favorite character in The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto), but that doesn’t mean that she’s a bad one. On the contrary, she has a complex personality and a tragic story, and we all know how appealing it usually is.
Abusive Mother
Fengxian is Maomao’s mother, and this is the reason why so many fans don’t like her. She never treated her daughter with kindness, she was abusive towards her and didn’t care about her feelings. On top of that, after the baby was born, Fengxian cut off her pinky to send it to the man she loved.
Her behavior can be explained by her challenging life. Fengxian never had a real mother, only a woman who gave birth to her. She didn’t get the chance to experience any motherly love, so she probably didn’t know how to express it, either.
Besides, Fengxian didn’t really want to have a child, Maomao’s birth was just a plan to get together with Lakan. She wanted to be with him but knew that he couldn’t afford to buy her out. So she planned the entire thing to get pregnant by him and lower her own price.
It would’ve worked perfectly, hadn’t Lakan needed to go away for some years. And that was when Fengxian started losing her mind. She lost it all: her value, her career, the man she loved. She was alone and abandoned, and all she had was the daughter she didn’t even want.
She Deserves Some Sympathy
But understanding the reasons for Fengxian’s actions doesn’t equal liking her, and that’s why fans are so torn between absolutely detesting her and feeling sorry for her.
Fengxian’s story was tragic indeed. She just wanted to be loved and spend her life with her beloved, which is something so many people can relate to. Her intentions were good, and she was going for a “Happily ever after” with Lakan and their child, who, we believe, she could’ve been able to love, too.
But fate is cruel, and Fengxian lost Lakan. Without him, she didn’t need Maomao anymore, and fans cannot forgive her for what she did to her daughter. It’s a major surprise that Maomao hasn’t grown up to be an absolutely hateful person.
That’s why Fengxian is such a controversial character who makes fans feel all sorts of things, both positive and negative.