Love

There are many types of love in this novel. I believe the saddest love of all is the one between parent and a daughter. "We love our parents because they take care of us, but we are considered worthless branches on the family tree. We drain the family resources. We are raised by one family for another. As happy as we are in our natal families, we all know that parting is inevitable" (See 59). This proves that girls were truly "worthless". Their only reason for life was to breed sons and if they did not do that, they were shunned and humiliated because the husband would soon pick up concubines. To be a woman it meant obedience. If a woman was obedient they were welcomed into their new home and if they bred sons they were praised. All Lily wanted in the book was attention from her parents, love from them, and later on the attention and praise from her in-laws. She did this through obedience because she knew them they would notice her. She followed all of the rules and suggestions during her pregnancies and was so awarded by three sons and a daughter, Jade. But when her in-laws died she then became Lady Lu, she finally had the power in the household. But obedience was still drilled into her heart and brain, affecting her relationships with her true friends and family.