"The climax of the first act," writes Wang, "comes as Qiqiao discovers that a man has deceived her and concludes that nothing is real but money. To 'protect' her daughter she decides to bind the latter's feet even though the custom has long since fallen by the wayside.
那是《金鎖記》上半場結束前的劇烈高潮，曹七巧發現感情受騙，憬悟到只有金錢才是真的，她要「保護」女兒，但用的卻是當時人已經不時興的「裹小腳」方式──她要將女兒留在身邊，寸步不離。王安祈寫道：