The following are two quotes that I chose from the first chapter of The Woman Warrior.
"Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on."
This quote shows how Maxine realizes that the story her mother told her had an ulterior motive. The only reason her mother shared the secret was to prevent the same thing that happened to the aunt, from happening to Maxine. One thing you can infer about Maxine's mother, is that she is not very straightforward. Unlike Maxine, she is not blunt in what she says or does. I suppose that the mother does not feel comfortable out right telling Maxine what, or what not to do. She uses the story as a way of communicating to her daughter, making her point in a less conventional and confrontational method.
"She will add nothing unless powered by Necessity, a riverbank that guides her life."
In this quote, Maxine narrates and describes her mother. What I learned from this quote, is that Maxine's mother does not like to do more than is needed of her. She does not like to give excess information, and only shares what she believes is important. This is frustrating for Maxine, who is hungry for more information about her aunt, but who knows that her mother will never tell her more. Her mother accomplished what she wanted to do, and that was to frighten Maxine so that she would not make a dumb decision and become like her aunt. With that mission completed, Maxine's mother was already finished with the conversation, and did not want to speak of it again. (A question I had, was, 'Why was "Necessity" capitalized in this quote???)
Bibliography: Kingston, Maxine H. The Woman Warrior. Vintage International ed. New York: Random House, Inc., 1989. 5-6.
2 comments:
i agree with caitlin that maxine's mom always has ulterior motives when she tells her something. She only tells her something straightfoward when she wants something to come of it. Either as a warning as in this case or a piece of advice. Her mom will never tell her "don't get pregnant by a man who's not your husband", instead she has to tell a story. This allows her to hide her feelings about the certain subject. Maxine obviously does not like this certain approach as she is much more blunt and up front about what she thinks and feels.
I do agree with Caitlin that the mother had hidden motives when she told her the story. But I don't completely agree that she only told the story so she wouldn't have to be straightforward with her advice. I think that one reason the mother told Maxine the story was to scare her so she wouldn't make the same mistake the aunt did. If the mom were to just tell maxine to not get pregnant, Maxine probably wouldn't pay much attention. But if the Mom gives her an example of what can happen, Maxine might be more wary.
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