The Mother

Pearl S. Buck lived in China for 40 years and that is why her books about life in China are so good. The Mother is an excellent tale about a poor rural woman who is never named in the book. The woman marries an attractive man and moves into his house with his mother. The man owns a small property and rents out other land. The mother bears him a son and a daughter. After she has their third child, another son, the man decides he has had enough. He takes all the money in the house and without saying a word, leaves his family. At this time the mother is nearly 30. She is left to plant the rice and barley, to raise the children, to cook and clean and take care of his mother. Her husband was a bit of a gambler and a drinker but she did love him. Being abandoned is a shameful thing in China so she decides to take some of her money to hire a person to write a letter from him to her claiming he is working in another city and will send her money soon. The mother is strong and able to keep farming and keep her family from starving. She sacrifices so much for those that she loves. She is a flawed person and makes some mistakes but still I think she is practically a saint. This wonderful story was published in 1933.