Guide Mentor

Character Role Analysis

Suyuan, Lindo, Ying-ying, An-mei

We would argue that the mothers’ main role in the novel is that of guide/mentor. Each mother tends to have a wish or a piece of wisdom she hopes to give her daughter. For example, An-mei hopes to teach Rose to have a voice and stand up for herself. Ying-ying wants to teach Lena not to live life passively. All of the mothers have some wisdom; whether their daughter’s want their mother’s advice or not is another question all together.