Pipa's Story (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Lan Samantha Chang
- First Published: 1993
- Type of Plot: Magical Realism, family
- Time of Work: 1949
- Setting: A rural Chinese village and Shanghai
- Principal Characters: Pipa, Her mother, Lao Fu, Wen, Meisi
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: Mothers, Parents and children, Communism or communists, Murder or homicide, Twentieth century, 1940’s, Villages, Asia or Asians, Duty, Death or dying, Domestic work or workers, Wealth, China or Chinese people, Talisman or magical object
- Locales: Shanghai, China
The Story
A young woman named Pipa leaves her Chinese village to work for a wealthy family in Shanghai. Because Pipa's mother works in charms and makes potions, she is a powerful figure in her village. When Pipa prepares to leave, her mother mixes potions to protect her against bodily harm as well as herbs that will fix her past in her memory and never allow her to forget her mother, no matter how far away she goes. The mother also asks Pipa to promise her to take a small stone with her and to find the heart of the house in which Wen, the man for whom she is going to work,...
[The entire page is 1436 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
