Pear Blossom Character Analysis in The Good Earth

Wang Lung buys Pear Blossom as a young slave in a year of famine. His uncle’s son takes a liking to her when he comes to Wang Lung’s house with the soldiers, but Wang Lung protects her from him. Soon after, Wang Lung takes her into his rooms as a concubine, even though he feels he’s much too old for her. She insists that she likes old men. However, she also tells him that she hates men in general. The reason for this hatred remains unclear, but its vagueness allows her declaration to condemn all the actions of men towards women in this book, many of which are despicable. Pear Blossom acts as the comfort of Wang Lung’s old age and agrees to take care of the eldest daughter after his death.

Pear Blossom Quotes in The Good Earth

The The Good Earth quotes below are all either spoken by Pear Blossom or refer to Pear Blossom. 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:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Washington Square Press edition of The Good Earth published in 2004.

Every man I hate except you—I have hated every man, even my father who sold me. I have heard only evil of them and I hate them all.... I am filled with loathing and I hate them all. I hate all young men.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 350

Explanation and Analysis:

Pear Blossom Character Timeline in The Good Earth

The timeline below shows where the character Pear Blossom appears in The Good Earth. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...slaves to wait on the family. Later, a man brings a thin young girl ( Pear Blossom ) to sell, and Lotus wants her, so Wang Lung buys her partly to satisfy... (full context)

...approves. He sends Cuckoo to the cousin, who tells her he wants a slave named Pear Blossom , whom Wang Lung bought in a year of famine to serve Lotus. When Pear... (full context)

Pear Blossom can tell that Wang Lung pities her, so she weeps at his feet. He tells... (full context)

Ever since Wang Lung protected Pear Blossom from his uncle’s son, Lotus has disliked her and accuses Wang Lung of lusting after... (full context)

...glory, and he points out that the slaves in the house are all ugly besides Pear Blossom . Wang Lung suddenly feels jealous and tells his son to keep away from the... (full context)

Wang Lung begins to think only of Pear Blossom . One day he feels particularly lustful, and he considers walking out to his land,... (full context)

Pear Blossom passes the gate to Wang Lung’s court, and he calls her in. He holds on... (full context)

Eventually Cuckoo realizes that Pear Blossom has become Wang Lung’s concubine, and she’s reminded of the Old Lord. Wang Lung tells... (full context)

Wang Lung is ashamed to tell his sons about Pear Blossom . The second son comes to talk about the harvest, though Wang Lung no longer... (full context)

...comes to Wang Lung’s court. Wang Lung is afraid for him to find out about Pear Blossom , but then he realizes that his son is afraid of many foolish things, and... (full context)

The youngest son comes that evening when Pear Blossom is sitting with Wang Lung in the court. The youngest son appears suddenly, like a... (full context)

Before long, Wang Lung’s passion for Pear Blossom passes, but he’s still fond of her and glad to have her around. She’s kind... (full context)

Wang Lung is usually alone except for Pear Blossom and his eldest daughter. He worries about Pear Blossom, but she insists she’s happy. Once... (full context)

...but when he arrives Wang Lung can’t remember what he wanted to say. He asks Pear Blossom to help him, and she asks him where he was on his land, which makes... (full context)

...earth. His sons come to visit him often, and if they don’t he complains to Pear Blossom . She says they’re busy, as the eldest son holds a position in the town... (full context)