Sabrana dela 10: Mati

Pearl S. Buck's novel Mother follows the life of an unnamed peasant woman in rural China in the early 20th century, just before the 1911 revolution. The main character, a strong and hardworking woman, lives in a poor farmhouse with her husband, three children (two sons and a daughter), and a blind mother-in-law. Her life, filled with hard physical labor in the fields and at home, changes dramatically when her husband—handsome, lazy, and self-indulgent—leaves her after an argument, never to return.

To avoid shame and protect her family from gossip, Mother lies to those around her that her husband has gone to the city to work, and later that he has died. She bears the burden of supporting her family alone: ​​she cultivates the land, faces famine, floods, and droughts, while trying to raise her children and care for her blind mother-in-law. Her strength is incredible, but each new tragedy — her daughter’s fate, her son’s ways, her own loneliness and old age — leads her into moral dilemmas and deep inner conflicts.

Buck masterfully depicts the everyday life of the Chinese peasantry: a patriarchal society in which a woman without a husband is almost invisible and vulnerable, hard work on the land, the cyclical nature that brings both blessing and ruin. The novel highlights themes of motherhood as absolute devotion, female endurance, social injustice, and the clash of tradition with modern changes in China.

Mother is an intimate, psychologically profound portrait of an ordinary woman who becomes a hero through silent suffering and constant sacrifice. The book exudes realism and empathy — Buck drew inspiration from her own life in China and her acquaintance with Chinese women. It is often considered one of her most moving works, along with The Good Earth, and powerfully depicts the universality of maternal love in the face of harsh reality.