She loses her Tiger spirit following the end of her first marriage and a vengeful abortion; by the time she meets and marries Clifford St. Clair, she is barely a shadow of her former spirited self. As an adult, Ying-ying is a distant mother to Lena, until she sees her daughter approaching a divorce and believes she can help her.
Why did Ying-Ying's mother say she would bring shame to her family?
Her mother said that she would bring shame to their house, but Ying-ying disregarded these warnings. Her family was one of the richest in Wushi, but the wealth meant little to young Ying-ying. She played on the street with a priceless jade jar, treating it like a toy. When she was sixteen, her aunt married.
What did Ying-Ying do in her youth?
Mrs. St. Clair recalls that she was a wild girl in her youth. Her mother said that she would bring shame to their house, but Ying-ying disregarded these warnings. Her family was one of the richest in Wushi, but the wealth meant little to young Ying-ying. She played on the street with a priceless jade jar, treating it like a toy.
How does Ying-Ying regain her spirit in the Joy Luck Club?
To regain her spirit, Ying-ying is going to confront her past. This pain will free her spirit so she can cut her daughter's spirit free. Like a tiger, Ying-ying sits and waits for her daughter. The Joy Luck Club has been lavishly praised for its literary techniques.
What did Ying-Ying ask the Moon Lady to find?
Although Ying-ying is rescued by her family, she never believes that she is the same girl. She also forgets many of the details of the day. Today, many years later, when her life is coming to an end, she finally remembers what she asked the Moon Lady: she asked to be "found."
Why did she wait four years before Ying-Ying could marry St Clair?
Clair. “Saint,” as Ying-ying calls him, courted Ying-ying for four years, but she waited for news of her renegade husband's death before marrying Clifford. Clifford believed she was a poor village girl and had no idea that Ying-ying had grown up amidst an opulence greater than any he could provide.
What is the cause of Ying-Ying's unhappiness?
Ying-ying lost her beloved first husband to another woman and was able to love her second husband only after he died. Lena has subordinated her spirit to her husband and bitterly resents his domination. Ying-ying sees her daughter's misery; Lena's husband Harold does not.
How did Ying-Ying feel about her pregnancy?
When she became pregnant, her husband left her for another woman. Ying-ying felt she had no choice but to abort the baby. But the abandonment by her husband, followed by the abortion, has left Ying-ying with deep emotional scars.
Who did Ying-Ying marry?
Clifford St. ClairYing-ying becomes almost entirely passive in her marriage to Clifford St. Clair.
How does Ying-ying's story reflect her life and that of her daughter?
How does Ying-ying's story reflect her life and that of her daughter? Ying-ying's story helps her to understand sadness, which enables her to be a better mother to Lena. What was "the art of invisible strength" that Waverly's mother taught her? It was the strategy for winning arguments and gaining respect from others.
Who changes Ying-ying's name and why?
In an effort to erase her past, Ying-ying comes to America as a war bride. Her husband, who speaks only English, changes her name to Betty and allows the immigration officials to subtract two years from her age. Ying-ying feels like her true identity has been lost.
Why did Ying-Ying marry Clifford?
When he died, she allowed the American Clifford St. Clair to marry her because she sensed that he was her destiny as well. For years she let Clifford mistranslate her clipped sentences, her gestures, and her silences.
What is Ying-Ying's spirit animal?
Ying-ying then explains that she was born in the year of the Tiger, and thus has a Tiger's spirit. A Tiger has a gold side to its spirit, leaping with a fierce heart, and a black side, devious and cunning. She channels the black side of her nature for ten years after her husband leaves her.
What happens in Chapter 14 of The Joy Luck Club?
The Joy Luck Club Chapter 14, Ying-ying St. Clair, Waiting Between the Trees. Ying-ying, staying with her daughter Lena, knows that Lena thinks she knows everything, even though she has no understanding of Chinese ways of thinking. Ying-ying thinks she should have made her daughter respect her more when she was younger ...
Who did Lena St Clair marry?
Harold LivotnyLena St. Clair is caught in an unhappy marriage to Harold Livotny.
What does Yingying mean in Chinese?
yíng yíng. a glimmer twinkling (of stars, phosphorescence, candlelight) flickering light.
What does the swan feather represent?
The Swan and the Swan Feather Well, we would argue that Tan is making a really strong case for the swan/swan feather to represent all the best wishes and hope for a better life in the new world.
How old is Ying-ying in The Moon Lady?
The Moon Lady. The drama in which the Moon Lady is a major character concerns the loss and reclamation of cultural and individual identities. Four-year-old Ying-ying, who has fallen overboard, is desperate to be "found" — to once again be reunited with her family — and with herself. She feels as though she has not only lost her family, ...
Why can't Ying-ying hear one another?
She and her daughter can no longer hear one another because Ying-ying rarely voices her thoughts. It was not always so; on the night when she was four years old, she shared her thoughts with the Moon Lady. The Moon Festival fell on a very hot autumn day.
What does the Amah do when she sees Ying-ying covered with blood?
The amah shrieks in terror when she sees Ying-ying covered with blood but gratefully strips off the soiled garments when she realizes that the child is unharmed. Alone on the back of the boat in her undergarments, Ying-ying waits as the moon rises. She turns to find the Moon Lady and slips into the water.
How is Ying-ying shackled?
In some ways, Ying-ying is like the bird with the ring around its neck, but she is shackled by psychological rather than by physical means. Ying-ying has repressed her identity for so many years that she is unable to communicate with her daughter. This shackle of communication, ironically, yokes the two women, despite the fact that the daughter blocks out her mother's voice by using a mechanical device. She physically closes her ears to Ying-ying's voice with her Sony Walkman and cordless phone. "We are lost, she and I," Ying-ying realizes, "unseen and not seeing, unheard and not hearing, unknown by others." Like the bird, Ying-ying's throat is constricted.
What does the Moon Lady do when the play ends?
When the play ends, the Moon Lady announces that she will grant a wish. Ying-ying rushes backstage and there, she sees the Moon Lady pull off her hair, drop her gown, and she realizes that the Moon Lady is a man. Although Ying-ying is rescued by her family, she never believes that she is the same girl.
What is Ying-ying's shadow?
The shadow here is symbolic of Ying-ying's being pulled between obedience, which leads to her being part of a group, and independence, which leads to isolation.
Is the Moon Lady an ordinary person?
The Moon Lady is not an ordinary person, the amah explained. Ying-ying recalls that the departure was delayed because the adults talked. She became increasingly restless until, finally, the servants began to load a rickshaw with provisions, and the family climbed aboard and departed for the river.