The key to a fruitful and healthy relationship is communication and understanding one another; without it, love will fade away into the darkness, failing to grow as both parties separate. Such ideas are in The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan, where she explores the development of relationships through identity and word. Ruth Young, the protagonist, struggles with comprehending the actions of her mother, LuLing, from her youth and present, of which an Alzheimer’s diagnosis exacerbates those behaviors. At the same time, her relationship with Art, her lover, strains while attempting to establish herself to him and his children. The narrative then switches to LuLing herself, sending the reader back to her childhood and her conflicts with her own mother, Precious Auntie, and so-called sister, GaoLing. As
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Her bewilderment is also apparent in the doctor appointment for LuLing, where she tells her real age rather than the one she made up for immigration (Tan 69). LuLing’s Alzheimer’s leads her to forget the made-up story she made long ago and tell the truth. These secrets, having been revealed, shocks Ruth, for she cannot comprehend what is going on since she has been fed essentially a lie her entire life and tries to deny such things. As far as relationship goes, it furthers how mysteries have kept both parties on separate pages and disallow them to connect on a deeper level for a mother-daughter bond. These secrets create the main conflict of LuLing’s and Ruth’s relationship, for they do not tell each other vital information and allow misunderstandings to squat within the space of possibility. In her manuscripts and Ruth’s accounts, LuLing showcases resentment toward GaoLing as they grow up
Her bewilderment is also apparent in the doctor appointment for LuLing, where she tells her real age rather than the one she made up for immigration (Tan 69). LuLing’s Alzheimer’s leads her to forget the made-up story she made long ago and tell the truth. These secrets, having been revealed, shocks Ruth, for she cannot comprehend what is going on since she has been fed essentially a lie her entire life and tries to deny such things. As far as relationship goes, it furthers how mysteries have kept both parties on separate pages and disallow them to connect on a deeper level for a mother-daughter bond. These secrets create the main conflict of LuLing’s and Ruth’s relationship, for they do not tell each other vital information and allow misunderstandings to squat within the space of possibility. In her manuscripts and Ruth’s accounts, LuLing showcases resentment toward GaoLing as they grow up