# The Elder Son — The Mother character guide > The Elder Son in The Mother by Pearl S. Buck. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** the elder son, himself, your **First appearance:** 0000-i ## Who they are 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. ## Relationships ### [The Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_mother) _family_ A strained familial bond, with the elder son often acting as a rival for the mother's attention or as a disapproving figure. ### [The Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_man) _rivalry_ A hostile power struggle, with the elder son challenging the man's authority and influence over the household. ### [Cousin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/cousin) _family_ A strained kinship marked by mutual suspicion and occasional cooperation against common threats. ### [Li The First](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/li_the_first) _rivalry_ A competitive dynamic, with both vying for the mother's favor and control over family matters. ### [Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/child) _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 strained familial bond, with the elder son often acting as a rival for the mother's attention or as a disapproving figure. ### [The Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_mother) _family_ A strained familial bond, with the elder son often acting as a rival for the mother's attention or as a disapproving figure. ### [The Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_man) _rivalry_ A hostile power struggle, with the elder son challenging the man's authority and influence over the household. ### [Cousin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/cousin) _family_ A strained kinship marked by mutual suspicion and occasional cooperation against common threats. ### [Li The First](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/li_the_first) _rivalry_ A competitive dynamic, with both vying for the mother's favor and control over family matters. ### [Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/child) _family_ A sibling relationship overshadowed by rivalry for the mother's attention and differing loyalties. ### [Cousin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/cousin) _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) Leads his sister by the hand, stands silently at the door, and later goes to his mother at the fire. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/iii) The mother's son who cries at the closed door, is cuffed by his mother, and later asks if the newborn is 'ours to keep.' ### [The Man's Restlessness and the Quarrel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/iv) Eats on, caring nothing for the pedlar's cloth or the commotion. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/v) Pressured into labor by the mother, cuffed when he lags or wants to play, and given his father's cut-down coat for winter. ### [The Letter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/vi) Follows the mother, grinning, and tells others about the letter. ### [Spring's Longing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/vii) Works alongside his mother in the fields, driving the beast. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/viii) Growing up tall and silent, he takes on heavy tasks; the mother feels him slipping away from babyhood. ### [The Unyielding Seed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xi) Growing into a young man, he longs to find his father and plans to leave home, forcing his mother to fabricate more lies. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xii) The elder son expresses his long-held suspicion that something was wrong with his sister's eyes. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xiii) Now nineteen, he is hardworking and gentle with all except his younger brother, whom he beats for laziness. He offers to care for his blind sister and urges his mother to rest. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xiv) Becomes bitter and resentful of his mother's favoritism; violently beats his younger brother during the harvest. ### [The Binding of the Blind Maid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xv) Supports his wife's view that the blind sister should be married off. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xvi) Objects to his mother working in the fields, is stubborn and uncomprehending, keeps his silver for himself, and does not offer his mother money. ### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xvii) Defends his wife against the mother's accusations, reminding her that she acted hastily in sending the daughter away. ### [The Younger Son's Return](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xviii) Resents his younger brother's idleness and the mother's favoritism, expresses bitterness. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/chapters/xix) Receives news of his brother's arrest and hesitates to tell his mother. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters/the_elder_son - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mother_se/characters