Once , Jie managed to flee the apartment in an unguarded moment . She couldn ’ t find the elevator , so she ran up and down the corridors banging on doors and shouting . A confused-looking white woman opened a door for her , but she didn ’ t understand Jie ’ s Chinese and didn ’ t do anything as Mr . Chow dragged her away making excuses in English . That evening , Mr . Chow beat Jie so badly that she urinated blood . She didn ’ t try to escape again after that , and the Chows didn ’ t give her any more opportunities .
Servants always find out the private affairs of their masters , and Jie soon learned that Mr . Chow was carrying on affairs with other women . Mrs . Chow couldn ’ t leave her husband , or even speak harshly to him , but she could take out her frustrations on the maid . Jie was being punished for the crimes of another , and her mistress ’ s thirst for vengeance seemed unquenchable .
Day by day , Jie watched herself deteriorate in the polished surfaces of the Chow home . Her face became gaunt and pale as a ghost ’ s , her once lustrous-hair fell out in patches , and her flesh itself disintegrated until her skin stretched tight over the bones . Jie thought that she was in the lowest Hell and that things could get no worse - until the night that Mr . Chow came into her bathroom while his wife was asleep . After that night , and the many similar nights that followed , Jie decided that there is no lowest Hell , and things can always get worse . Mrs . Chow said nothing about these late-night visits , but Jie began experiencing bouts of diarrhea and vomiting that doubled her over in agony and stank up her cell for days . She suspected that her mistress was poisoning her food .
One day , Jie was locked in her bathroom , laying on the tile floor and recovering from a severe bout of illness , when she decided that she couldn ’ t take any more . With an unsteady hand , she reached into the cabinet under the sink and took out a bottle of bleach . She opened it , grimacing at the sharp smell , and raised it to her lips . Just as she was about to drink , her doll ’ s purple dress caught her gaze out of the corner of her eye . She remembered her Granny , and her family back home , and she lost the will to die . Granny ’ s words echoed in her mind . “ On the fifteenth day of the New Year , the anniversary of the Lady ’ s murder , set the goddess atop the toilet and pray to her . Tell her that the master and mistress are away , and ask her for any help you require .”
“ I ’ ll do what Granny told me ,” Jie said , with a fierceness she was no longer used to hearing from herself . “ I ’ ll wait for the day to arrive . And on that day , either the Lady of the Latrine will set me free , or this bottle of bleach will .”
The Chows had a calendar , so at least Jie could keep track of what day it was . The fifteenth of the New Year was a long time in coming , but knowing the day of her escape made the burns and the beatings and the taunts and the poisons and Mr . Chow ’ s foul caresses that much more bearable . She clutched the doll to her emaciated breast at night , and cooed prayers and vengeful curses to it while she cried herself to sleep .
At last the promised day arrived . The death-day of the Lady of the Latrine . When the Chows were out at dinner and Jie was locked in her bathroom again , she perched the doll atop the toilet lid and bowed to it . “ The husband and wife are gone ,” Jie whispered . “ It ’ s safe for you to come out now .” The doll made no response . “ The husband and wife are gone !” Jie said . “ I pray , my sweet Goddess , come out and help me .”
The doll remained as it was , a still , silent little manikin stitched together from handbag