Ning began to break her ideals of Confucian womanhood as her need to provide for her family increased. As an opium addict, her husband had sold everything they had owned and she began to starve, but she was torn about what to do, " we women knew nothing but to comb our hair and bind our feet and wait at home for our men "2. Ning was raised in the ideals to stay at home and serve her husband, she was at a loss of feeding her family, she was taught to wait till her husband brought food but it never came. In a Confucian society women often did not leave their gates and were hardly seen. "It was no light thing for a woman to go out of her home "3. But as her children began to starve, she had no choice and Ning took to begging. As she continued to beg, her feet began to spread a result of not being able to afford foot bandages. Losing her small feet was a sign of laziness and Ning became ashamed, however after her husband sold her second daughter she knew leaving him would be the best choice to protect her family. She was forced to "go out of the court " to be independent and not rely on her husband. Ning had stated that she was the first woman to "come out " in her family and no longer live in her home. This shows the beginning of evolving traditions in the Qing dynasty and again we see Ning focusing on Confucian family ideals over the Confucian ideals of womanhood. .
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Caring for her daughter became Ning's primary goal in life, and she began to take control of her life. Ning began to go out and look for work. Her independence shows her strength as a mother and the importance of keeping her family together. She gave up work to care for her daughter and stay close to home; she could leave her workplace and go home at night exercising her newfound freedom that many women did not experience in imperial China. The more Ning was able to take control of her life and actions we can see peace and happiness in her family.
