"'Fallen down,' she says simply. She doesn't apologize.

'It doesn't matter,' I say, and I start to pick up the broken glass shards. 'I knew it would happen.'

'Then why you don't stop it?' asks my mother.

And it's such a simple question."

--This represents the broken table that is a symbol for their marriage and how fragile it is. It was made by her husband which shows that he easily controls his wife. The mother easily ruins the marriage just like she breaks the vase. She foresaw this happening, and her daughter fails to take control and prevent the marriage from getting this bad.