Ever since her mother died, June has been spending much of her time
sorting out her feelings about the past she and her mother had shared,
and about the legacy that her mother had passed down to her. For the
first time, June realizes how little she really knew of her mother's
person and past. When she mentions this to her Aunties, Auntie An-mei
cries, "Not know your own mother? How can you say? Your mother
is in your bones!" (The Aunties have cause for alarm not only
for June's ignorance concerning her mother, but also for the possibility that
their daughters know just as little about them.) After this
epiphany, June resolves to finally discover who her mother really was all
those years by examining the legacy that she had left behind, the
"bones" that are part of both June and her mother.
June remembers the story her mother always told, about her life in Kweilin,
and each time the ending was different and made-up, except for one (Jing-mei Woo: The Joy Luck Club).
June, as a child, had always assumed that her mother led a life of
joy and happiness before coming to America, and her mother's past
seemed to have a romantic and mystical air to it. However, when her
mother told June the real ending of the story, June knew it to be true
because it was the only one that was not a fairy-tale ending, the only
one that was the harsh reality. June's mother had to leave many things
behind, including June's then-infant twin half-sisters. This revalation
comes as a shock, and June realizes for the first time in her life
that there may be more to her mother than she suspected. This story
stays with June throughout her life: her mother tells it to young
June to entertain her, June uses the real ending as a weapon against
her mother, and in the present, June goes to China to reunite with her
long-lost sisters. The story is legacy of mystery and longing; June
imagines China as a mystical place, and both she and her mother yearn
to see the twins one day, a day that comes too late for June's mother.
Other legacies that her mother left behind were material objects,
each with a special meaning. One of these was June's second-hand
piano, which was once the bane of her life (Jing-mei Woo: Two Kinds). It was her mother's last attempt to bring out the hidden genius in her daughter. At first,
June was very gung-ho about finding the latent genius in herself,
but when she realized that she could do no more than her best, and
since her best wasn't good enough for her mother, she gave up trying. June's mother wanted June
to have a special talent to help her succeed, not just so she can
brag about her to Auntie Lindo (although that was part of the reason--Chinese
pride). However, June did not understand this.
Then, for June's thirtieth birthday, her mother gives her
the old piano, kind of like a peace offering to forgive and forget
the whole piano business when June was a child. When her mother gives
her the piano, she also comments, "You have natural talent. You
could have been genius is you want to." Then when June protests
that she had never been a genius, her mother responds by saying, "You
just not trying." That sentiment seems to be universal among
Asian parents; they had been raised to be hard-working, so when their
children don't seem to be as industrious as expected, they blame their
children's apparent laziness on bad influences, mostly from American
society. It is true, though, in a way--Asian parents try to raise their
children with a strong work ethic, and although the kids are lazy
compared to the parents, they generally tend to do well in school
because of their upbringing. June knows how her mother feels (but
doesn't quite understand), but there's nothing that either
can do about it. But despite this small source of tension between
mother and daughter, June accepts the gift graciously, and in a way,
the piano symbolizes the triumph of overcoming all the conflicts and
disputes that June and her mother had had in the past.
Another legacy that June's mother bequeathed to her daughter was the
jade necklace that she gave her after the disastrous crab dinner at
their house (Jing-mei Woo: Best Quality). June really has no
idea what the pendant means, but she has some guesses. During the dinner,
Waverly humiliates June by implying in their conversation that June
was both unsophisticated and poor. One of the things Waverly said
was that June's quality of writing was not good enough for her
firm. Then, when the crabs go around, June picks the crab with the
missing leg, the worst one, so her mother wouldn't have to eat it.
Later, in the kitchen, when June feels foolish and tired, her mother
gives her the jade necklace, "her life's importance," her
way of telling June that although she isn't sophisticated or rich,
she's still worth a heck of a lot more than what many people may think.
To her mother, giving June the necklace is like giving her daughter
part of herself to remember her by. Her mother's thinking was that
even though June did not always
choose the best quality things or seem to have the best quality lifestyle,
that didn't necessarily mean that she isn't the best quality on the inside.
