Hai wonders what her mother would have insisted on joining her husband in Taiwan if she hadn’t been encumbered with her children. What do you think? Would her path have been different without her daughters?
I believe the mom would have stilled tried to return to her husband. Without the children the path would have been different but goal the same, to return to her husband. Many times, the children help to achieve the goals, like Hai writing the letters
I agree, I do think her mother would have tried to return to her husband. There was a culture of following the male lead and the importance of the family so she would have wanted to be with her husband. Without children her path would have been different, but the goal would have been the same…be reunited.
Her life would have been easier without daughters to care and worry about. And of course if she had sons she would have been included with the family when they escaped!
I think she would first have sought out her brother for refuge and perhaps advice. It’s likely she would have found a way to her husband, though.
I think Hai’s Mom would have attempted to return to her husband with or without her children. Her children actually helped her in this journey, earning money and writing letters to secure tickets for the family, also providing care for her third living daughter. The journey would have been a lonely one without the children. When she heard her husband planned to marry another woman, this was very painful news but she could envision a life with her daughters apart from the Ang family in Taiwan.
The mother, with or without children, had no other choice but to return to her husband and his family. The mom was steeped in traditional culture that emphasized women were subservient to husbands and their families. This tradition was all she knew so, yes, she would have returned to her husband.
Without children, her mother might have had the freedom to prioritize her survival or to follow her husband to Taiwan more quickly. Fleeing a war-torn region is challenging; adding the safety of two young girls makes it nearly impossible.
However, it’s also essential to consider her character. Hai’s mother is portrayed as loyal, self-sacrificing, and deeply rooted in familial duty. Even without her daughters, she may have stayed behind to help her extended family or community. That seems unlikely, but her decisions weren’t purely logistical; they were also moral.
So yes, her path might have been different without her daughters, but her values may still have led her to make difficult, self-denying choices.
I’m not sure the grandmother would have allowed Hai’s mother to accompany them even if there were no children. Without the children, she might have tried to get to her husband on her own. She had tremendous strength for the girls but she might have not survived on her own.