Pride in the Relationship of Jing-mei and Suyuan in The Joy Luck Club

“‘Jing’ like excellentjing...just pure essence. And 'Mei‘ this is common mei, as in meimel, “younger sister‘." The relationship between Jing—mei and Suyuan is told from Jing-mei's perspective after Suyuan's passmg, and appears to be one that is broken » plagued with misunderstanding. unhappiness and unfulfillment. However, as the novel progresses, Jing-mei begins to discover and understand more about her mother’s meaning, and it is evident that through episodes in Jing—mei's childhood, adulthood, and learning about her ‘life's importance'. that Jing-mei was indeed the pride of Suyuan's life. Jing-mei was the manifestation of Suyuan‘s ‘long»cherished wish'. After abandoning her twin daughters in Kweilin during the Sino-Japanese War, Jing-mei was seen as a second chance to Suyuan, and thus all of Suyuan’s hopes, dreams and intentions were transferred to Jingemei upon her birth.

This is reflected in Jingemei's name, which Canning Woo later explains means ‘pure essence‘ and ‘younger sister‘, Jing- mei's name symbolises Suyuan's great love and hopes for Jing-mei, seeing her as something valuable, pristine and of great worth. In the prologue of the segment of the book Feathers From A Thousand LiAway, Suyuan's hopes for Jing-mei are metaphorically illustrated through the tale of an old woman and a swan heading towards America. I quote, ‘In America I will have a daughterjustllke me. But over there nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch. Over there nobody will look down on her, because I will make her speak only perfect American English. and she will always be too full to swallow any sorrow! She will know my meaning, because I will give her this swan — a creature that became more than what was hoped for.'After leaVIng behind her old life in China, Suyuan’s hopes and ambitions for a new life in America, her fulfillment of the “American Dream', is manifested in Jing-mei‘s life.

The 'swan - a creature that became more than what was hoped for', shows us that Suyuan wanted Jing-mei to enjoy and benefit from all the things she was deprived of in her own life, depicting her deep love for her and the great amount of pride she took in her. Throughout Jing»mei's childhood. it is evident that Jing-mei was of utmost pride to her through her unrelenting faith and sacrificial love for Jing-mei. "'Of course you can be prodigy, too, my mother told me when l was nine. 'You can be best anything". When Jingemel was a child, Suyuan had great faith that Jingemel had the capacity for talent and success, and relentlessly took means to maximize Jing»mei's potential, through countless attempts such as trying to nurture Jing-mel into a child actress, to have high intelligence, and even to become a piano prodigy. “My mother had traded housecleaning services for weekly lessons and a piano for me to practice on every day. "

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Although not welleoff and despite being aware of . Jingrmei’s unwillingness to try to succeed, Suyuan was willing to put in extra labour into providing Jing-mei With any of the resources necessary for her to succeed, characterizing Suyuan's sacrificial love in Jing-mei. Even when Jing-mei failed in being a prodigy, Suyuan still persisted in bragging about her to the other mothers, defending her when she was criticized. In spite of the fact that Jingemei failed to fulfill her mother's hopes for her, Suyuan never gave up on Jing»mei, and was completely invested in paving a path for Jing mei to have what she thought was the best for her. Suyuan's pride In Jing»mei as a child is a hallmark of Chinese parenting. where parents take immense pride in their children, serving as a form of reputation for the parents themselves. Through Suyuan's sacrifices and faith in Jing-mei in her childhood it is evident that Jing-mei was the pride and joy of Suyuan’s life.

Suyuan's pride in Jing-mei extends into Jing-mei‘s adulthood as well. Seeing through the eyes of Jing-mei whose nature was to be self-depreciating, Jing-mei seems to grow up to be average, consistently disappointing and falling short of expectations. However, Suyuan’s pride in Jing-mei is still unmistakably exemplified through two key events , the return of the piano to her and Suyuan's affirmation of her during the Chinese New Year dinner. When Suyuan offers Jing-mei the piano back as a gift, it symbolises a token of Suyuan's forgiveness, By offering back the central emblem of the rift in their relationship many years back, it is shown that in spite of how much Jing-mei hurt her mother, Suyuan‘s love for Jing—mei still transcends the fractures in their relationship. “‘You just not trying, " said my mother. And she was neither angry nor sad. She said it as if to announce a fact that could never be disproved. '

After decades had passed, Suyuan still stood firm on her unfailing pride and belief in Jing- mei‘s talent, and that she never gave up on hope in Jing-mei despite Jlng-mei's perceptions. During the Chinese New Year dinner. Suyuan affirms Jing—mei after she feels insulted by Waverly and betrayed by Suyuan. “Only you pick that crab, Nobody else take it. I already know this. Everyone else want best quality. You thinking different, " In this quote. Suyuan expresses that while everyone else at the dinner wanted the best for themselves. Jing-mei possessed qualities that were unique and special - being selfless and wanting the least for herself. This depicts thatjust like Jing-mei’s inability to tell apart good crabs from bad ones, Jing-mei was unable to see the good qualities in herself and Instead put herself down excessively. This point is further reinforced by Suyuan's response to Jing-mei's unhappiness about Waverly‘s words - ”'She is like this crab. "

My mother poked a shell in the garbage can. “Always walking sideways, moving crooked, You can make your legs go the other way. In this quote. Suyuan explains that though Jing-mei may not match up to the other daughters in material success, she values that Jing-mei is superior in terms of character and morals. and seeing this as more important than what Jing-mei perceives as success, affirming Jing-mei of the value she sees in her. Lastly. Suyuan's pride in Jing—mei is demonstrated when Suyuan accords Jing-mei with her ‘life’s importance'. The jade pendant that Suyuan bestows upon Jingemei symbolises the value that Suyuan saw in Jing-mei. “For a long time, I wanted to give you this necklace. See, l wore this on my skin. then you know my meaning. This is your life's importance. " Even though Jing-mei could not understand the significance of the pendant at that point of time, it represented Suyuan’s belief in in Jing-mei, that just like jade, as she aged, she would mature, improving and deepening with time, and become more and more valuable, Suyuan‘s need to affirm JIng-mei of her worth also portrays her pride in her.

As she felt obliged to make Jing-mei feel better when Jing-mei felt wounded by Waverly‘s and her own comments during the dinner. This reinforced Suyuan's love for Jing—mei, as though Jing-mei consistently fell short of her own expectations for her, she nevertheless stood by and supported Jing-mei when she faced criticism. In conclusron, it is certain that Jing-mei was the pride of Suyuan's life In spite of Jing-mei's perception of her failure and inadequacies, it is clear that Suyuan had a deep, unconditional love and held great pride in Jing-mei. as evidenced through many episodes throughout the novel. Thus, it is undeniable that Jing—mei was indeed the pride and joy of Suyuan's lifet.

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