The Mother · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Mother by Pearl S. Buck.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
The Mother
major
Also known as the mother, Mother, herself, hers
A widow tethered to her fields and children, she discovers in a stranger's small kindness a heat she cannot name or bury.
The Man
major
Also known as the man, yourself, myself, your
An agent who waives his fee and lingers in a neighbor's dooryard, his false cheer masking the eyes that slide toward a woman across the way.
The Woman
supporting
Also known as the woman, herself, hers
She sits spinning at her threshold while a visitor's gaze drifts to her, her stillness the quiet center of a tension she half-perceives.
The Old Mother
supporting
Also known as the old mother, its, your
A grandmother who watches the rice seedlings against greedy birds, her sharp cries and long memory shaping the household's daily rhythms.
The Elder Son
supporting
Also known as the elder son, himself, your
Bent early by labor, he broods on a mother's love that pours toward his younger brother, his patience wearing thin as a dammed river.
The Young Man
supporting
Also known as the young man, your
Quick, brown, and light on his feet like his father, he is the mother's favorite, slipping away from his brother's blows to wander.
The Young Girl
supporting
Also known as the young girl, herself, hers
She is the girl in her father's household who runs to pick up a weeping child, whose smallness weakens her heart even when she shouts at the ones under her feet. That same instinct will follow her into marriage, where a husband alone is never enough and only a child growing inside her makes the act complete. Her hunger to hold and smell and fondle whatever is young and leaning on her is the deep, unexamined engine of the whole story.
Some Stranger
minor
Also known as some stranger who wrote to tell the news
Anonymous figure who delivers news via letter.
Li The First
minor
Also known as Li
Named character, possibly a family member or local figure.
Cousin
minor
Also known as your
A cousin of the mother or another character.
Child
minor
Also known as your
A child character, possibly the mother's youngest.
