maintain that there was really only one choice to make--to listen to one's mother (rather than to all those other people who are only too ready with their advice).
Rose's mother, An-mei Hsu, tells her that she doesn't have enough "wood," meaning that she needs to be more like a tree--to stand tall and listen to her mother standing next to her, rather than constantly bending back and forth with the advice of others (213). She believes that she has given Rose a great gift. She has given her daughter the certain gift of experience, if only Rose will heed her advice. Characteristic of most young adults, however, Rose will make her own mistakes, before gradually realizing that she is more like her mother than she would ever dream imaginable.
An-mei bemoans the fact that Rose had to swallow some bitterness in the course of her young marriage, despite some mistakes that An-mei could see coming. In t
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