# Child — The Mother character guide

> Child in The Mother by Pearl S. Buck.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** your

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Who they are

A child character, possibly the mother's youngest.

## Relationships

### [The Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_mother)

_family_

A dependent and emotionally intense mother-child relationship, marked by the child's need for protection and the mother's conflicted care.

### [The Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_man)

_family_

A fearful and submissive relationship, where the child is caught between loyalty to the mother and intimidation by the man.

### [The Young Girl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_young_girl)

_friendship_

An innocent but fragile companionship, often disrupted by the adults' manipulations.

### [Cousin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/cousin)

_family_

A protective yet distant familial bond, with the cousin acting as an occasional ally to the child.

### [Li The First](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/li_the_first)

_family_

A distant and wary relationship, with the child sensing Li The First's complicated history with the mother.

### [The Elder Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_elder_son)

_family_

A sibling relationship overshadowed by rivalry for the mother's attention and differing loyalties.

### [The Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_mother)

_family_

A dependent and emotionally intense mother-child relationship, marked by the child's need for protection and the mother's conflicted care.

### [The Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_man)

_family_

A fearful and submissive relationship, where the child is caught between loyalty to the mother and intimidation by the man.

### [Cousin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/cousin)

_family_

A protective yet distant familial bond, with the cousin acting as an occasional ally to the child.

### [The Young Girl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_young_girl)

_friendship_

An innocent but fragile companionship, often disrupted by the adults' manipulations.

### [The Elder Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_elder_son)

_family_

A sibling relationship overshadowed by rivalry for the mother's attention and differing loyalties.

### [The Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_man)

_family_

A fearful and submissive relationship, where the child is caught between loyalty to the mother and intimidation by the man.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/i)

The younger child, a boy who suckles at the mother's breast for comfort, even though her milk is dry.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/iii)

The newborn son, delivered by the cousin's wife and laid beside the sleeping mother.

### [The Man's Restlessness and the Quarrel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/iv)

The mother's youngest child, for whom she buys a piece of blue cloth from the pedlar.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/v)

The babe, now large enough to sit alone, plays in the earth while the mother works, and is nursed when she rests.

### [Spring's Longing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/vii)

The youngest child, now walking, who is weaning and resists suckling.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/viii)

A neighbor's baby boy that the mother cared for as a young girl, which awakened her deep passion for motherhood.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xvi)

The daughter-in-law remains barren, causing the mother to complain about the empty house.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xix)

The newborn grandson, a boy, who brings joy to the mother.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/child
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters