On the second anniversary of his father’s mysterious disappearance, Fan Yeh and his mother have tacitly abandoned their search for the old man and appear content and even refreshed by this release from their burden of searching for him. In allegorical terms , the eclipse of the Confucian paternal authority figure has become a process of relief and emotional unburdening to the remaining family members, who no longer perceive a need for a central figure of familial authority. Aside from this allegorical dimension, the novel dramatizes many typical stresses on the modern family in Taiwan, including fierce wifely jealousy over the husband’s real or imagined infidelity, sky-high parental expectations of generous financial support in their old age from their sons, and stubborn parental illusions about keeping even their grown-up children emotionally dependent on the elders.