THE MATERNAL LOVE IN THE JOY LUCK CLUB

浦春莉

【Abstract】The Joy Luck Club was created by a female Chinese-American writer Amy Tan. It brought her great success. The novel vividly depicted the stories of the four Chinese mothers and their four Americanized daughters. Though the four mothers lived in America， they were still complete Chinese. They raised their daughters in a traditional Chinese way. The reality is that their daughters were born and educated in America. They couldnt understand each other exactly. There were many misunderstandings among them. Their communication barrier came from the culture differences. Its the maternal love that bridged the gap between the daughters and mothers. This thesis tries to exemplify the maternal love in Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club. It tries to claim that its impossible even for mothers and daughters to avoid the conflict. At present-day society， parent-child relationship becomes indifferent because of the generation gap. The writer tries to call for the better love between parents and children. Its vital for the world to turn around.

【Key words】maternal love； mother； daughter

The maternal love is an eternal theme whether in the films and television programs or in the literature works. The Chinese-American writer Amy Tan successfully and vividly depicted the complicated relationship between the Chinese-born mothers and their American-born daughters in her masterpiece The Joy Luck Club. The four mothers are Suyan， Lindo， Yingying and Anmei. The daughters are June， Waverly， Lena and Rose. The Joy Luck Club is a novel with a theme of mother-daughter relationship. The mothers and daughters experienced the misunderstanding， conflict and the understanding process. Amy Tan successfully creates four mothers images by the narrative strategy of a first person mixed with the third person narration. The writer presents the stories of four Chinese-immigrant women and their American-born daughters. Each of the four Chinese women had her own view of the world based on her experiences in China and wanted to share her experiences with her daughter. All their daughters were born and educated under the American culture. So theres a big gap between mothers and daughters. They have their own spiritual traditions and lifestyles. The four mothers love presents the Chinese culture and the daughters response to their mothers symbolizes the American culture. The daughters had to listen to their mothers words and they were also unwilling to give up their own wishes. The generation gap and the culture differences caused the communication barrier between mothers and daughters. Its the maternal love that bridges the gap between them.endprint

Bai （2008） wrote in his works： “Mother love knows no rhyme or reason， and Chinese-style mother love is especially boundless and without regret. These four mothers， each with a daughter， painstakingly take care of them as if they are little swans， praying for their daughter to quickly become useful and outstanding adults” （p 69）. The mothers educated their daughter in a traditional Chinese way. However the daughters are Americanized. They looked like their mothers in their appearance whereas in mind， they are Americans. To a large extent， they could not understand their mothers tragedies. They looked their mothers stories as Rimsky-Korsakov. It couldnt be true. Hamilton supported （1999） that the mothers tried to convey the traditional Chinese values and beliefs， but the daughters have no ability to catch the cultural significance of their mothers words.

Bai （2008） said： “The value of The Joy Luck Club lies precisely in its enabling us to see through the unique angle of mother love the close relationship between Chinese-American mothers and their daughters and between them both and their faraway fatherland”（p. 70）. Tan organized the material in the form of generational contrast stories. The story consisted of four parts with mothers telling two stories and the daughters telling two stories. Some are about growing stories and some are about the mothers tragedies. Their mothers tried to bring up their Americanized daughters in a traditional Chinese way. For the great gap between Chinese culture and American culture， theres no doubt the daughters were reluctant to accept their mothers values. And they even challenged their mothers tradition and authority.

Suyuan and June

On Suyuans way to America， she said to the swan： “In America I will have a daughter just like me， but over there nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husbands belch. Over there nobody will look down on her， because I will make her speak only perfect English. And over there she will always be too full to swallow any sorrow！ She will know my meaning， because I will give her this swan—a creature that became more than what was hoped for” （p. 3）. These words showed her love， aspirations and best wishes to her future daughter. No doubt， readers can find Suyuans great intention to her future daughter. Why did she think her future kid would be a daughter？ Its because the twin babies she lost in China. She placed all her hopes on her future daughter. She wished that her future daughter would be as elegant as the swan. Some Chinese like sons because these persons think that sons will carry on the family name and support their parents when they are older and require care. When reading the story of Anmei， readers can find that “my mother didnt dare to take her son away， because a son can never go to somebody elses house to live. If he went， he would lose any hope for a future” （p. 246）. Suyuan was such a special mother. When June was a little girl， she refused to accept her mothers order to play the piano. June thought its not in China， her mother could not make her. And she even wished she would be dead just like the twin girls her mother given up in China and they were not mother and daughter. That made her mother Suyuan so upset. Thats the first conflict between the two generations and eastern and western culture conflict. The daughter couldnt understand her mother correctly. How about the situation when June grew into a lady？ There was a sentence said by June： “I never thought my mothers Kweilin story was anything but a Chinese fairy tale” （p. 12）. Such kind of communication barrier comes from the generation gap and the culture difference. Before June went to China to see the twin “babies”， her mothers good friends asked June to tell the two “babies” of their mothers life. But June said she could tell nothing about her mother. She didnt know her mother and she was just her mother. Junes aunties thought she was crazy， for they thought its too ridiculous for a daughter to do not know her mother. A mother was in her daughters bones. These words showed the conflict between mothers and daughters. June said she didnt know her own mother. They lived together for so many years， but the daughter didnt know her mother exactly. The following words depicted their non-effective communication： “I had always assumed we had an unspoken understanding abut this things： that she didnt really I was a failure， and I really meant I would try to respect her opinions more. But listening to Auntie Lin tonight reminds me once again： My mother and I never really understood one another. We translated each others meanings and I seemed to hear less than what was said， while my mother heard more” （p. 27）. The mother had great expectation on her child but the daughter did not know her mother well.endprint

At the dinner party， June refused to take pictures with her mothers friends and daughters because her mother Suyuan was not there. She had died. Watching the mothers and their daughters talking and laughing， she missed her mother so much. When asked to replace her mothers place to play mah jong， June recalled many things belong to her mothers and hers. Though there were so many misunderstands between the mother and the daughter. The mother Suyuan showed her selfless love to June. At that point， June didnt make success on career or marriage. She thought her mother must be hopeless. But her mother thought June had a kind heart and the best quality because she picked the worst crab. Its June who picked the worst crab. The others wouldnt choose that one. And then Junes mother gave her the jade pendant， she said its not the best one， but if June wore it often， it would become better and better. Suyuan just wanted to imply her daughter that even if the she was not successful at the time， but later， she would be successful， because she has good quality. Jade represents purity and honesty.

We can see the mother Suyuan knew her daughter exactly. It made June more confident and stronger. Even though there were many misunderstanding between them， the happy thing was that they came to understand each other. On the way to China， especially when June met the twin sisters， she fulfilled her mothers dream. Just like her mothers name Suyuan. It means “Shuyuan” in Chinese. June made her mothers dream come true. Meanwhile， she came to understand her mother and her mothers devoted love for her.

Lindo and Waverly

There are also some conflicts between Lindo and Waverly. Waverly is her mothers pride for Waverly was good at playing chess. But at one time， Waverly refused to play the chess because she thought her mother wanted to show off. Waverly felt embarrassed for this. She challenged her mothers authority. She did think her mother didnt love her. But how did Waverlys mother Lindo care Waverly？ In order to make Waverly focus on playing chess， Lindo decided that Waverly no longer had to do the dishes. Her two brothers Winston and Vincent replaced her to do the chores. Whats more， when complaining her brothers were too noisy， she could have her own bedroom by herself immediately. She could leave half-finished bowls on the table and nobody would complain. She was treated specially. Her mother put all her hopes on her. Whats more， on the surface， the mother didnt care about her daughters decision that she would quit playing chess， on the surface， she didnt polish Waverlys trophies every day and didnt care about the newspaper report mentioned her daughter by cutting it. Thats the routine job she did before. But when Waverly developed a high fever， Lindo accompanied Waverly beside her bed till the next morning and feed her rice porridge. Whenever we are in trouble， our mothers are always with us. Chinese mothers show their love by using a special way. They dont often kiss or hug their children but serve their children delicious food to show their love and care. They dont often compliment their children. They love their children with a special way. And when Waverly wanted to remarry， she thought her mother didnt like her future husband Rich because she accused the present Rich gave her. And she also laughed at Richs sports on his face. She did the dishes she was best at to welcome Richs coming. Even thought Rich knew litter about Chinese customs by pouring some riverful soy into the dish， Waverlys mother agreed Rich to marry her daughter Waverly. She just showed her love in a Chinese way. She pleased her daughter by cooking the best food.endprint

Anmei and Rose

After reading Tans novel The Joy Luck Club， we readers are greatly touched by the story of Anmei. At the other part of the novel， Tan depicted mostly how mother loved their daughters. Anmeis mother-daughter story was different from others. Despite Anmeis mother had refused to accept Anneis mother as her daughter and had forbidden her to step her house， when Anmeis Popo was in the severe sickness， Anmeis mother came back. She used a scared way to save her mothers life. She appeared quiet and sad. At last she cut a piece of meat from her arm by using a sharp knife and cooked to feed her mother. Her flash didnt save Popos life. She sustained great physical pain. Her mother gave life to her， thats the best way to show her love to her mother. All readers are deeply moved. The scar， skin and blood， it linked the mother and daughter. To Anmei， she didnt meet her mother for several years， but she recognized her mother immediately and she didnt hate her mother even thought her mother didnt accompany her during her childhood. Though Anmeis mother remarried Wu Tsing as his forth wife， she asked Anmei to remember that she was the first wifes daughter， the “dataitais daughter”. Its because Anmeis mother wanted her to be confident. The blood connection between mother and daughter linked mother and daughter tightly. Whenever Anmei touched the scar on her neck， she could remembered her mother. Its her mother who taught her to be strong. In order to make Anmei distinguish what was right and what was wrong， Anmeis mother stepped the fake peal necklace into crushed glass and asked her to wear it a week till her daughter learned the lesson. At last， Anmeis mother killed herself by swallowing opium. She killed her own weak spirit to give Anmei a stronger one. This mother risked her own life to save her daughter. As a result， Anmei became stronger and stronger.

Under the influence of Anmei， Rose treated her husband as her mothers way. She filled her husbands stomach. But to her husband， Rose was not a good wife. She was like a servant. Her mother said she didnt know her own value. Theres the biggest problem in their marriage， she didnt know how to make a right choice. Her mother Anmei said to her： “A girl is like a young tree； you must stand tall and listen to your standing next to you. That is the only way to grow strong and straight. But if you bend to listen to other people， you will grow crooked and weak. You will fall to the ground with the first strong wind. And then you will be like a weed， growing wild in any direction， running along the ground until someone pulls you out and throws you away”（p. 213）. This Chinese mother raised her Americanized daughter in a traditional Chinese way. To our happiness， Rose became strong and stood straightly. Finally， she won her husband over. With the help of her mothers instruction， she saved her marriage.endprint

Yingying and Lena

In order to get rid of Lenas bad habit of wasting food， Yingying scared Lena liked this： “Your future husband have one pork mark for every rice you not finish” （p. 164）.

Frightened by her mother， Lena would eat the last few grains in the rice bowl even thought it was getting cold. No one knows Yingying told the truth or not， but the important thing was that Lena didnt waste food anymore. When Yingying saw the thing which Lena and her husband shared， they paid 50 to 50. Lena thought its equal just like their love. Yingying found the most important point， theres something wrong in her daughters marriage. She asked her to get rid of the item ice cream. Yingying remembered all along that her daughter hated eating ice cream since shes a little girl. To readers surprise， Lenas beloved husband Harold didnt know his own wife couldnt eat ice cream. He thought she was on diet. On the contrary， Yingying knew her daughter than a husband. All mothers are like Yingying. They know their children best. Chinese people know the saying： Mencius mother moves her home three times to better her sons education. Thats a typical Chinese mothers love.

Adam （2006）： The harmony comes out at the end of the The Joy Luck Club when June finally meets her twins Chinese sisters. Their meeting was grasped by camera. The camera takes down the unity moment. June said： “I know we see it： Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes， her same mouth， open in surprise to see， at last， her long-cherished wish” （p 332）. And when， June came to realize that part of her is Chinese. And when， the Chinese culture and American culture come together.

Just like Mistris said （1998）： the mothers and daughters were at odds with many things. The mothers made their daughters free by giving their deep love. Each of the mothers had her own overcoming odds stories. They have learned the lesson from the mothers and had made themselves strong. The just way is to combine the Chinese culture and American culture. Its impossible for people to choose their parents whereas people can try their best to get along well with their parents and respect their parents. Love makes the world turn around. The mothers and daughters story in The Joy Luck Club convince us that we can do change the environment， but we can not cut the consanguinity. The blood relationship ties a family even a nation. It supplies one with energy and spirit to conquer any hardship in the world.endprint

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