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.'
Without a mother, one cannot love. Without a mother, one cannot die.
Whenever I feel mom-guilt, or I feel pressure to be a better mom - to cook salmon on a bed of quinoa for my kids - I just think to myself, 'I... have... suffered... enough.' And then I feel fine about feeding my toddler a bag of chips for dinner.
Reading was a huge part of my life as a child - we were a family of storytellers.
Raising children, be aware that the piles and piles of laundry will disappear all too soon and that you will, to your surprise, miss them profoundly.
Motherhood isn't just a series of contractions; it's a state of mind. From the moment we know life is inside us, we feel a responsibility to protect and defend that human being.
I have my father's lopsided mouth. When I smile, my lips slope to one side. My doctor sister calls it my cerebral palsy mouth. I am very much a daddy's girl, and even though I would rather my smile wasn't crooked, there is something moving for me about having a mouth exactly like my father's.
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