Lindo Jong

Her lessons nurture Waverly’s skill at chess, but Waverly comes to resent her mother’s
control and seeming claims of ownership over her successes.

She discovers these values while in China, caught in a loveless marriage and oppressed by the tyranny of her
mother-in-law.

By playing upon her mother-in-law’s superstition and fear, Lindo eventually extricates herself
from the marriage with her dignity intact, and without dishonoring her parents’ promise to her husband’s
family.

Lindo later teaches these skills of invisible strength—for which she uses the wind as a metaphor—to her
daughter Waverly.

Lindo Jong learns from an early age the powers of “invisible strength”—of hiding one’s thoughts until the
time is ripe to reveal them, and of believing in one’s inner force even when one finds oneself at a disadvantage.

Distressed by this, Lindo wonders what she has lost by the alteration.

She regrets having
wanted to give Waverly both American circumstances and a Chinese character, stating that the two can never
successfully combine.

Her
strategies of concealing inner powers and knowledge may be related to her ability to maintain what Waverly
characterizes as a type of “two-facedness”—an ability to switch between a “Chinese” and an “American” face
depending on whom she is with.

At the same time, however, she recognizes her own
American characteristics and knows that she is no longer “fully Chinese”: during her recent visit to China,
people recognized her as a tourist.

Lindo perhaps experiences the largest crisis of cultural identity of any of the characters.

By playing upon her mother-in-law’s superstition and fear, Lindo eventually extricates herself
from the marriage with her dignity intact, and without dishonoring her parents’ promise to her husband’s
family.

She thinks that from the moment she gave Waverly an American name—she named
her after the street where the family lived—she has allowed her daughter to become too American, and consequently
contributed to the barrier that separates them.

She thinks that from the moment she gave Waverly an American name—she named
her after the street where the family lived—she has allowed her daughter to become too American, and consequently
contributed to the barrier that separates them.

Lindo Jong learns from an early age the powers of “invisible strength”—of hiding one’s thoughts until the
time is ripe to reveal them, and of believing in one’s inner force even when one finds oneself at a disadvantage.

She discovers these values while in China, caught in a loveless marriage and oppressed by the tyranny of her
mother-in-law.

Lindo later teaches these skills of invisible strength—for which she uses the wind as a metaphor—to her
daughter Waverly.

Her
strategies of concealing inner powers and knowledge may be related to her ability to maintain what Waverly
characterizes as a type of “two-facedness”—an ability to switch between a “Chinese” and an “American” face
depending on whom she is with.

Lindo Jong learns from an early age the powers of “invisible strength”—of hiding one’s thoughts until the
time is ripe to reveal them, and of believing in one’s inner force even when one finds oneself at a disadvantage.

Lindo perhaps experiences the largest crisis of cultural identity of any of the characters.

Her
strategies of concealing inner powers and knowledge may be related to her ability to maintain what Waverly
characterizes as a type of “two-facedness”—an ability to switch between a “Chinese” and an “American” face
depending on whom she is with.

Her
strategies of concealing inner powers and knowledge may be related to her ability to maintain what Waverly
characterizes as a type of “two-facedness”—an ability to switch between a “Chinese” and an “American” face
depending on whom she is with.

Distressed by this, Lindo wonders what she has lost by the alteration.

Her
strategies of concealing inner powers and knowledge may be related to her ability to maintain what Waverly
characterizes as a type of “two-facedness”—an ability to switch between a “Chinese” and an “American” face
depending on whom she is with.

She regrets having
wanted to give Waverly both American circumstances and a Chinese character, stating that the two can never
successfully combine.

She thinks that from the moment she gave Waverly an American name—she named
her after the street where the family lived—she has allowed her daughter to become too American, and consequently
contributed to the barrier that separates them.

Lindo perhaps experiences the largest crisis of cultural identity of any of the characters.

Eventually, Waverly seems to become ashamed
of Lindo and misunderstands her as a critical, controlling, and narrow-minded old woman.

At the same time, however, she recognizes her own
American characteristics and knows that she is no longer “fully Chinese”: during her recent visit to China,
people recognized her as a tourist.

She regrets having
wanted to give Waverly both American circumstances and a Chinese character, stating that the two can never
successfully combine.

Lindo perhaps experiences the largest crisis of cultural identity of any of the characters.

By playing upon her mother-in-law’s superstition and fear, Lindo eventually extricates herself
from the marriage with her dignity intact, and without dishonoring her parents’ promise to her husband’s
family.

She thinks that from the moment she gave Waverly an American name—she named
her after the street where the family lived—she has allowed her daughter to become too American, and consequently
contributed to the barrier that separates them.