My mother's rules had to do with feminine deportment, so I never played hard enough to break a toy or muddy my dress. My father's rules had to do with never shaming the family by even a hint of scandal, and not providing business rivals with an opportunity to kidnap me or throw acid in my face.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the contrasting rules set by the speaker's parents, highlighting expectations regarding femininity and family reputation.
Bharati Mukherjee shares her reflections on the upbringing influenced by her parents' distinct rules. Her mother's guidelines emphasize traditional feminine behavior and propriety, discouraging any actions that could lead to physical messiness or disruption of societal standards, while her father's rules focus on protecting family honor and safety. Together, these rules shape the speaker's identity, illustrating the complex interplay of gender expectations and familial obligation in her formative years.
In practice
In a speech about family values, one might quote this to emphasize the influence of parental guidance.
I flew into a small airport surrounded by cornfields and pastures, ready to carry out the two commands my father had written out for me the night before I left Calcutta: Spend two years studying creative writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, then come back home and marry the bridegroom he selected for me from our caste and class.
Bengalis love to celebrate their language, their culture, their politics, their fierce attachment to a city that has been famously dying for more than a century. They resent with equal ferocity the reflex stereotyping that labels any civic dysfunction anywhere in the world 'another Calcutta.'
Ever since I watched 'Roots,' I've dreamed of tracing my African ancestry and helping other people do the same.
My dad is a Chatty Cathy, the social butterfly; friendly; knows everybody in the whole world by six degrees; tells me that every performance is the greatest he's ever seen, every new outfit is the coolest. Constant cheerleader.
My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.
My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, her intelligence reflected in my daughters.
I'm not the only one; most people's mothers are the most influential person in their life. But my mother survived the camps, and she was very strong. She made me strong, but she wanted me to be strong. That's more important.
If you've never been hated by your child, you've never been a parent.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.