The climax of this brilliant story that tells of the
conflict between a Chinese immigrant to America and her daughter comes at the very end
as, in a dream, Waverley faces her mother in a mystical and magical game of chess and
loses. She has already challenged her mother about the pride she takes in her daughter's
chess playing ability, and the result of this is that her mother ignores her. The
conflict between them is made evident through this final chess game, which is when the
conflict that has been brewing between Waverley and her mother is finally able to be
unleashed. Consider how the game is described:
Her black men advanced across the plane, slowly
marching to each successive level as a single unit. My white pieces screamed as they
scurried and fell off the board one by
one.
The defeat of Waverley
by her mother in this fantastical game of chess is the climax because of the way in
which the tensions between them are finally expressed and voiced in this game. Although
Waverley loses, however, it is clear from the last sentence, "I closed my eyes and
pondered my next move," that this is a battle that is far from over. Although Waverley
may have lost this first battle for her independence, she will be back to fight another
day.
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