# Cousin — The Mother character guide

> Cousin in The Mother by Pearl S. Buck.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** your

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Who they are

A cousin of the mother or another character.

## Relationships

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

_family_

A close but complicated kinship, where the cousin serves as both confidante and occasional source of tension.

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

_rivalry_

An antagonistic relationship fueled by jealousy and competition for influence over the mother.

### [Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/child)

_family_

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

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

_family_

A strained kinship marked by mutual suspicion and occasional cooperation against common threats.

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

_rivalry_

An antagonistic relationship fueled by jealousy and competition for influence over the mother.

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

_family_

A close but complicated kinship, where the cousin serves as both confidante and occasional source of tension.

### [Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/child)

_family_

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

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

_family_

A close but complicated kinship, where the cousin serves as both confidante and occasional source of tension.

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

_rivalry_

An antagonistic relationship fueled by jealousy and competition for influence over the mother.

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

_family_

A strained kinship marked by mutual suspicion and occasional cooperation against common threats.

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

_family_

A strained kinship marked by mutual suspicion and occasional cooperation against common threats.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/ii)

The cousin's wife remarks that it would be good when the old woman dies, but the mother defends her.

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

The cousin's wife acts as midwife, helping the mother through labor and delivery, and later brings soup.

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

Helps the mother with the harvest for two days, works silently, and offers to assist with the landlord's agent.

### [The Letter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/vi)

Honest man who changes the paper money into silver for the mother, refuses payment.

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

The cousin's wife who gives birth and calls for the mother's help.

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

The mother's cousin, who has a contented household with a good husband and children; the mother envies her.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/ix)

The good cousin who helps occasionally; the agent visits his house as a pretext.

### [The Binding of the Blind Maid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xv)

Advises the mother that she cannot care for the blind maid forever.

### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xvii)

The father's cousin who reluctantly agrees that the mother acted quickly; his wife later comforts the mother and advises patience regarding grandchildren.

### [The Younger Son's Return](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xviii)

The cousin's wife speaks mildly to the mother about the younger son's age and behavior.

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

The cousin's wife is present at the birth; the cousin's son brings news of the younger son's arrest.

## Links

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