Quote of the Week: Pavilion of Women

"Madame Wu rose from the chair.  She was ready for this day. A women's fortieth birthday in a rich and old-fashioned family was a day of dignity.  She remembered very well when her husband's mother had passed such a day, twenty-two years ago.  On that day Old Lady had formally given over to her son's wife the management of the big house with its many members.  For twenty-two years Madame Wu had held this management in her own hands, skillfully maintaining its outward habits so that Old Lady did not notice changes, and at the same time making many changes."   (page 4)

Pavilion of Women
by Pearl S. Buck
first published in 1946

Madame Wu has plans for her fortieth birthday, too, but she will not relinquish management of the big house. Instead, she has decided to give her husband a concubine.