"But when she was born, she sprang from me like a slippery fish, and has been swimming away from me ever since. All her life, I have watched her as though from another shore. And now I must tell her everything about my past. It is the only way to penetrate her skin and pull her to where she can be saved." p.242
The final part of The Joy Luck Club is definitely the most powerful. Told through the viewpoints of the mothers (and ending as it began, with Jing-mei), this section of the book ties up all of the stories, the characters' relationships, everything that has happened in the novel. "Queen Mother of the Western Skies" rounds out the characters of the mothers, making them out to be much more compassionate and understanding than we have previously thought. Though there are plenty of cultural tensions and language barriers, the mothers only want what is best for their daughters. They understand, sympathize, want to help. Looking back in retrospect, they recognize the flaws in their parenting, they know what they could have done better. But rather than dwelling on their mistakes, they all figure out how to move forward, and help their daughters now. Not only does this piece of the book give closure, but it also gives comfort. The mothers are finally able to share their wisdom, their experiences, with their daughters.
The novel offers a happy ending, but in a different sense than most books. While not all of the characters have solved their problems, the reader is sure that they will all be fine. The mothers and the daughters have finally reached new territory in their relationships, a new level of understanding. The end of the novel comes together in a very beautiful, moving end.
This is an eloquent analysis of the final section. You describe beautifully the way Tan gives us a "happy ending" even though the mothers and daughters aren't necessarily best friends.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I like how you point out that we get to know the mothers through their final stories. They seem kind of distant throughout the novel and we know very little at the end of the first section (which is supposed to be a section about them). I think it makes it more powerful that Tan forces us to make assumptions about the women and then shows us who they really are.