All mothers in the movie faces multiple oppression and power struggles, for being a female, for being the mother, for being a racial minority in America. However, in this essay I will have decided to pick four characters to talk about: An-Mei and An-Mei;s mother, Ying-Ying and her daughter Lena.
An-Mei one of the mothers in the movie, tells her beloved mother's story where her mother experienced multiple oppression due to her status as a woman in a long deep-rooted Chinese history. An-Mei's mother lost her husband (An-Mei's father) and was sent back to live with her maternal parents by her mother-in-law after her husband passing away. One day, An-Mei's mother was invited by the second wife of a wealthy merchant named Wu Tsing to spend time at their house. That night, the merchant Wu Tsing came into Ann-Mei's room and rapes her. Ann-Mei's mother returns home after the night but the rumor is already circulated around the town. An-Mei's mother is called numerous names "ghost", "filthy" and "disgusted". This demonstrates lack of respect of women in China, it was the Merchant Wu Tsing who raped An-Mei's mother; however, people in the town including her own parents and aunts blame An-Mei's mother for showing temptation, alluring the man. In China, it is the female's fault for unprotecting her body and acting promiscuous, therefore, it is An-Mei's mother who has done wrong and Merchant Wu-Tsing was only persuaded by the evil. Ann-Mei's mother is forced to become Wu Tsing's fourth concubine because she is pregnant with his baby. Ann Mei's mother eventually gives birth to a baby boy, her son however, is taken away from her and given to the second wife of Wu Tsing. Ann-Mei's mother is once again oppressed by the power struggle as the second wife takes her own son away from her, the only power who have is taken away by the second wife. Therefore, An-Mei's mother once again becomes dependent on a male, Wu-Tsing, although she has the lowest status in the house and cannot claim the son she gave birth to be her own son, she has nowhere else to go since her own parents neglected her.