Without Wood Important Quotes

“Lately I had been feeling hulihudu. And everything around me seemed to be heimongmong. These were words I had never thought about in English terms. I suppose the closet in meaning would be “confused” and “dark fog.” (188)

This sets the mood of Rose’s feelings throughout this chapter of the book. When Ted leaves her, she feels lost and depressed. She hesitates to looks for guidance, which causes her to sleep for days on end, and she does not dream during these days. She is lost in the darkness around her.

“My mother once told me why I was so confused all the time. She said I was without wood. Born without wood so that I listened to too many people.” (191)

While this also further describes her confusion and lack of guidance, it also shows how her mother’s strong perceptions of her. She describes her mother’s presence in her dream sequences as over-powering and omnipotent. For example, she knows which doll Rose should choose and influences Mr. Chou to push her in the direction of that one.

“And for the first time I can recall, I had no dreams. All I could remember was falling smoothly into a dark space with no feeling of dimension or direction. I was the only person in this blackness.” (193)

This further shows how she lacks guidance. When she is alone, she does not have a sense or feeling of direction. She feels safe in this place, completely alone, but it also keeps her from facing what’s real and dealing with her divorce.

“No way to pull them out once they’ve buried themselves in the masonry; you'd end up pulling the whole building down.” (195)

This quote shows how Rose was quite literally rooted in her marriage. Once Ted rips out these metaphorical weeds of their marriage, she crumbles and becomes very depressed.

“’I have just planted them this morning, some for you, some for me.’ And below the heimongmong, all along the ground, were weeds already spilling out over the edges, running wild in every direction.” (196)

In her last dream sequence, Rose’s mom plants new roots for herself and Rose. This shows how her mom will help her rebuild her life after her disaster, the divorce. Rose knows in her subconscious to reach out to her mother for guidance in her “dark fog.”