Great-Granny Character Analysis in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

Great Granny is the matriarch of the Liu family. She is the mother of Liu Jin Sen, Big Uncle, Little Uncle, and Baby Uncle. She’s also the grandmother of LuLing and the great-grandmother of Ruth. Great-Granny gradually loses her memory as she ages, foreshadowing the dementia that will affect LuLing in old age. Great-Granny is the main reason the Liu family agrees to support Precious Auntie and LuLing in the aftermath of Baby Uncle’s death. Great-Granny is highly superstitious and fears that Baby Uncle’s ghost will haunt the family if they do not care for his scarred fiancé and their illegitimate child. When Great-Granny dies, Mother replaces her as the family’s matriarch and sends LuLing to live in an orphanage.

Great-Granny Character Timeline in The Bonesetter’s Daughter

The timeline below shows where the character Great-Granny appears in The Bonesetter’s Daughter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...better than Father’s. The women claim that the black, sticky ink keeps their hair dark. Great-Granny jokes that her hair is as black as a chestnut’s shell and her flesh as... (full context)

Memory, Culture, and the Past Theme Icon

...grief consumes her, which eventually forces the women to restrain her with strips of cloth. Great-Granny forces her to drink medicine that sedates her. (full context)

...mess of blood and ink. Mother thinks it’s better that they let her die, but Great-Granny fears that Precious Auntie’s ghost will haunt them. Fearing a curse, the women tend to... (full context)

Baby Uncle comes to Great-Granny in a dream and tells her to keep Precious Auntie and her baby in the... (full context)

...embarrass them. LuLing realizes that the women will turn on Precious Auntie once the superstitious Great-Granny dies, and they no longer have to worry about the supposed curse. Knowing this makes... (full context)

The following month, Great-Granny hits her head and dies. When Mr. Chang delivers the coffin, Precious Auntie curses him... (full context)

Great-Granny’s funeral takes place a few days later. Fearing that the old woman’s ghost is still... (full context)

...to fight with the Communists. Mother’s hair has gone completely white, and she believes that Great-Granny’s voice is haunting her. Although the Catcher of the Ghosts has since been revealed to... (full context)