Home is not exactly a place but it is an understanding of the .
beliefs of the mothers in the novel and the different but not .
wrong beliefs of their daughters.The first relationship that will be discussed is the .
relationship between An-mei Hsu and her brief relationship with .
her mother in China. An-Mei first describes her mother as a .
ghost who later returns to her after she had been gone for .
nearly five years. After leaving her other family members, An-.
Mei is taken to a strange, but wealthy house where she discovers .
her mothers relationship with a man named Wu Tsing. Her mother .
had disappeared, had a son, and was Wu Tsings fourth wife. .
After being weakened by the house, and the dishonesty of the .
people in the house, An-Meis mother commits suicide only after .
she tells An-Mei that she would rather kill her own weak spirit .
so she could give me a stronger one (Tan, 240). As a Chinese .
belief, it is thought that a mother was to pass her spirit to .
her daughter and so on through each generation to come. .
Although An-Mei experienced a brief, tragic relationship with .
her mother, An-Meis spirit and sense of home was stronger then .
before and that day her mother died An-Mei learned to shout .
(240).
On the other hand, An-Meis relationship with her .
daughter was not as easy to recognize in the sense of a home .
place as it was for An-Mei and her mother. An-Meis daughter .
Rose was one of seven children. An-Mei put an immense amount of .
responsibility on Rose at a very young age. Rose was expected .
to take care of her four brothers in order to learn .
responsibility and appreciation for her parents. This .
responsibility leads to the death of the youngest brother, Bing, .
but a slight understanding of An-Meis faith in things and not .
just hopes in things. Rose does not realize her mothers faith .
and fate speech until she is facing a divorce from her husband .
Ted and her recollection of her baby brother Bing. An-Mei .
