By, Hisaye Yamamoto
"It was as though her mother had memorized it by heart, reciting to herself so many times over that its nagging vileness had long since gone."
This quote can be found at the end of Rosie's mother's explanation of why she had married Rosie's father and I chose it because it revels to the reader of extent of the sacrificial position Rosie's mother was placed in the past and currently in the future. Through the story of why the marriage occurred the reader learns that after Rosie's mother had been impregnated by a young man in Japan, she felt that she would not be allowed to marry the young man due to her family's social class. In addition even after she miscarried she still found herself "despised by her family" and incredible uncomfortable because although " her family did not turn her out , she could no longer project herself in any direction without refreshing in them the memory of her indiscretion". There fore in a last ditch effort to save her future and reputation, Rosie's mother had to threaten suicide in order to allowed to leave her home country and marry a "simple boy". A poor young girl like Rosie's mother in the past would not have been allowed or encouraged by society to marry a rich man or get pregnant out of wedlock. There fore in order to fit herself into the mold society and her family had sculpted for her, and to ensure her survival, Rosie's mother had to sacrifice herself and her homeland to come to foreign country to marry a simpleton.
Then as wasn't enough of a punishment for her supposed "indiscretions", years later when she found herself through writing poetry she must once again sacrifice her lifestyle and desires in order to fit into the mold her husband wants of her. This mold is one where her sole purpose in to exist as a house wife who " kept house, cooked, washed, and did her ample picking of of tomatoes out in the sweltering field". It is also implied in the story that husband is so upset and perturbed by poetry Rosie's mother writes because it is beyond the scope of his understanding as a simple man, and also because allows Rosie's mother to be independent of him. There fore in order to keep the peace, Rosie's mother decides to give up the poetry. However she also takes this tragic moment as opportune time to warn her daughter not to get married. The warning combined with Rosie's mother 's past and present gave me a strong sense the author wished to warn and educate the reader of the detriment a women's gender can evoke in her life if she is not careful and aware of the harsh reality of the patriarchal society we live in.
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