"My mother's expression was what devastated me: a quiet, blank look that said she lost everything." (p. 143, The Joy Luck Club)
            
             In the novel, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, the characters Suyuan and Jing-Mei (June) have a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship: one that ultimately is composed of conflict and commitment for one another. Their opposing ideas and beliefs is the product of their life experiences, which are drastically different. This and their lack of communication are responsible for many of the problems they face in their relationship. Only when June learns of her mother's past, her life experiences and the ways in which she was raised, can these conflicts be resolved. Amy Tan reveals several themes through her novel, in which she intends for her audiences to understand and learn. Some themes include such topics as life's choices, and understanding our family and ourselves.
            
             Mother-daughter relationships are perhaps the most painful but the most rewarding relationship women share. And though a simple comment such as "You're becoming more like your mother every day." might offend or strike terror in the female heart, she is still considered to be the rock on which we stand, and a steady hand that guides us through life. To understand the mother-daughter connection (healthy or destructive) it is wise to delve deeper and explore why we are first- natural enemies, secondly- why she (our mother) is determinably unpleasable, and last, how to redefine the mother-daughter relationship, so that both can learn and accept the other as she presently is by appreciating the other's good qualities and accepting the bad.
            
             Natural Enemy
            
             What is it about the mother-daughter attachment that yields natural enemies and demands so much power?
             No other human being is as similar to her daughter than the daughter's mother. They are mirrored from head to toe. And almost repli...