The film basically wants to send out the message that every mother wants the best for their daughters. They view their daughters as their new hope. Something might have been wrong in their past experiences that they do not want their daughters to fall on the same history. This is all about the mother and daughter relationship where the daughters gained strength from their mothers. The maternal instincts to care and to watch for their daughters, even if they are already grown-ups, are also shown in this film. Even if they have matured, they still don’t know what they’ll do with their lives because they are not experienced like their mothers who had gone through a lot. The old women are the source of their strengths and understanding in their lives.

The theme is sincere and honest simply because it is the reality among us. These are instances in our mothers’ lives that served as their turning point and were able to go on living overcoming their fears, the tragic ends and challenges. Then they pass on their stories to us, daughters, for us to learn from their ups and downs and finally set our own goals and make decisions in our own selves without the dictates of the other people.

Symbols and motifs are used in the story like Suyuan’s pendant. Suyuan gave her pendant to June when they were at the kitchen talking about the crab thing related to “best quality”. The pendant changes its meaning in the course of the story. June sees it as a mere pendant which is used by old-fashioned people and it’s old. But when Suyuan died, June somehow realized that it’s a symbol of her mother’s love and care.

Another symbol is Lena’s vase. The vase is placed in a wobbly table which her husband Harold built when he was first studying architecture. She knew putting the vase or some weight in that unbalanced table will make it collapse and finally will break the vase into pieces but she didn’t mind. The vase represents their marriage which is falling apart. She knows the situation about their marriage but she refuses to take action. But her mother Yin-Ying “accidentally” causes the vase to break to warn her of the disaster if she will not do something about it.

Lindo’s red candle is a symbol of Chinese culture with regards to the success of marriage. When Lindo was married, she and her husband lighted a red candle with wick at both ends. Their names were written on opposite ends and if the light turns all night without extinguishing prematurely, customs says the marriage will be successful and happy. But Lindo secretly blows out the light so she could get free from the dilemma. Her blowing of the candle shows that she has a control over her own life. The candle is first the symbol of traditions, then of self-assertion and to connect it the tradition of claming one’s own identity and power.

The swan feather that was given to June by her father after death of her mother the feather somewhat symbolizes the hope and beauty found in June. Suyuan wants the best for June. In her childhood, she had an unsuccessful effort to find her talent and her mother seems to compare her to Waverly because she’s more talented than June. She was an ugly duckling before. No one recognizes her and she was always last in line. But now, her mother “sees” her, the beauty in her like swan. And a swan reveals its true beauty as it spreads its wings and flips it with vigor. Just like Suyuan sees June, there’s a hope for June to have a better life and a strong personality. Upon meeting the twins in China, June took the place of her mother and told the twins the story.

Motifs are also seen in the film like the control over one’s destiny. Suyuan believes that June will reveal her talent if the two of them will work hard to discover it. But June believes there is something in her that cannot be forced, saying “you’re making me someone I don’t want. You can’t make me”. Yin-Ying believes that she is destined to marry an older man but she ended up deprived upon learning of his infidelity.