The Good Earth

by

Pearl Buck

The gateman’s wife Character Analysis

The gateman’s wife gives Wang Lung tea while he waits for O-lan to show their baby to the Old Mistress. By this point, Wang Lung feels secure enough in his social status to shun the tea as not good enough for him. Later, once the Hwang family has left the house and it’s been overrun by commoners, Wang Lung finds the gateman’s wife guarding the gate to the inner courts that he decides to rent. Her presence accentuates the difference between his status when he first entered the gates and when he comes to rent the courts.

The gateman’s wife Quotes in The Good Earth

The The Good Earth quotes below are all either spoken by The gateman’s wife or refer to The gateman’s wife. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Rich vs. Poor Theme Icon
).
Chapter 28 Quotes

There before him was the great carven dais where the old lady had sat, her fragile, tended body wrapped in silvery satin.

And moved by some strange impulse he went forward and he sat down where she had sat and he put his hand on the table and from the eminence it gave him he looked down on the bleary face of the old hag who blinked at him... Then some satisfaction he had longed for all his days without knowing it swelled up in his heart and he smote the table with his hand and he said suddenly,

“This house I will have!”

Related Characters: Wang Lung (speaker), The Old Mistress, The gateman’s wife
Related Symbols: The House of Hwang
Page Number: 293
Explanation and Analysis:
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The gateman’s wife Quotes in The Good Earth

The The Good Earth quotes below are all either spoken by The gateman’s wife or refer to The gateman’s wife. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Rich vs. Poor Theme Icon
).
Chapter 28 Quotes

There before him was the great carven dais where the old lady had sat, her fragile, tended body wrapped in silvery satin.

And moved by some strange impulse he went forward and he sat down where she had sat and he put his hand on the table and from the eminence it gave him he looked down on the bleary face of the old hag who blinked at him... Then some satisfaction he had longed for all his days without knowing it swelled up in his heart and he smote the table with his hand and he said suddenly,

“This house I will have!”

Related Characters: Wang Lung (speaker), The Old Mistress, The gateman’s wife
Related Symbols: The House of Hwang
Page Number: 293
Explanation and Analysis: