“My mother imparted her daily truths so she could help my older brothers and me rise above our circumstances. We lived in San Francisco's Chinatown. Like most of the other Chinese children who played in the back alleys of restaurants and curio shops, I didn't think we were poor. My bowl was always full, three five-course meals every day, beginning with a soup full of mysterious things I didn't want to know the names of.” ThinkingKnowsWantChildrenHelpingMotherThreeCoursesNamesPoorFamilyFiveBrotherCircumstancesMysteriousChineseMealsRestaurantsShopsBowlsSoupSan FranciscoRise AboveAlleysOlder BrotherMysterious ThingsChinatownBack Alleys Book:The Joy Luck Club Source: The Joy Luck Club
“The first person besides my mother who believed in me was a man whose last name I never knew. He was my boss, the manager of Swenson's Ice Cream shop.” MenFirstsPersonsLastsMotherNamesHe ManIceManagersShopsBossCreamIce CreamFirst Person Author:Mona Simpson
“My view on issues is based on common sense, and my experience as a mother of four children, as a sole parent, and as a businesswoman running a fish and chip shop.” ChildrenRunningMotherParentViewsCommonIssuesFourFishesCommon SenseShopsSoleChipsFish And Chips Author:Pauline Hanson
“Ideas about mothers have swung historically with the roles of women. When women were needed to work the fields or shops, experts claimed that children didn't need them much. Mothers, who might be too soft and sentimental, could even be bad for children's character development. But when men left home during the Industrial Revolution to work elsewhere, women were "needed" at home. The cult of domesticity and motherhood became a virtue that kept women in their place.” MenNeedsChildrenIdeasCharacterHomeMightMotherLeftWorkResponsibilityRolesVirtueFieldsRevolutionDevelopmentNeededMotherhoodExpertsShopsElsewhereSentimentalCultCharacter DevelopmentIndustrial RevolutionDomesticityKept Woman Author:Sandra Scarr