The Bonesetter's Daughter

In Amy Tan's (2002) The Bonesetter's Daughter, we are provided with a similar theme in Tan's earlier works. That theme revolves around the cause and effect impact on identity of intergenerational relationships and experiences. In The Bonesetter's Daughter, the main character is Ruth Young, a middle-aged Chinese American ghostwriter living in San Francisco with her live-in, Art. Being a ghostwriter is apropos for Ruth, whose mother is haunted by "ghosts," in this case mainly memories, of the past. The story becomes involved when Ruth discovers her mother is suffering from the initial signs of Alzheimer's and her discovery of a manuscript kept by her mother in native Mandarin. Not speaking Mandarin, Ruth has the work translated and discovers the story of her mother's nursemaid, the "bonesetter's daughter" of the title who raised her. The events that unfold in the novel transform Ruth, from a daughter who exhibits contempt for her mother's raising of her to her recognition that she is now her mother's keeper as her mother once kept her. Ruth comes to know her mother through the past and this provides her with greater understanding and healing in the present.

The intergenerational tale told by Tan does not just focus on LuLing and Ruth. It also focuses on the relationship between LuLing and her nursemaid Precious Auntie. Precious Auntie is actually LuLing's mother. Ruth discovers this due to her mother's manuscript she has

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nd effect relationship of Ruth and LuLing. The assimilation process was very difficult on Ruth when she was a young girl. It is also why she was quite often embarrassed by her mother's inability to speak English well or to interact with others in a more socially acceptable manner. This impacts the bond between mother and daughter. While Ruth feels humiliation and shame over being a Chinese American, her mother is terrified that Ruth's reactions mean she is rejecting and abandoning Chinese tradition and heritage. We see this clearly when Ruth, who ironically seems to think her mother is not American enough, is angry that her mother named her "Ruth:" "Her mother couldn't even say Ruth's name right. It used to mortify Ruth when she shouted for her up and down the block, �Lootie! Lootie!' Why had her mother chosen a name with sounds she couldn't pronounce" (Tan, 2002, p. 49-50). Most of the time, however, LuLing merely becomes exasperated with her daughter's behavior, "Lootie give me so much trouble�maybe I send her go Taiwan, school for bad children" (Tan, 2002, p. 50). Other influences on LuLing's development that influence her behavior toward Ruth stem from her upbringing and relationship with Precious Auntie. Precious Au

Category: Literature - T