Odour of Chrysanthemums Character comparison

Elizabeth Bates, is a woman who seems to have been very much hardened by life’s experiences, she and her son’s relationship seems also to be strictly that of parent-child. While her son appears to be very much silent and aloof to all that is occurring around him, Elizabeth differs in that aspect, she gives full expressions to her feelings. Although her son seems indeed to have lost his childhood innocence and joy, we see that he still has a vivid imagination that show that although he has been exposed to a world of drudgery since birth, he is still very much a child. The son though seems to be rebellious but we can see that in fact he is rather obedient to his mother and takes heed her words. Elizabeth Bates clearly loves her son but with all the pressures and frustrations of life, there seems to be no joy in her relationship with her son. The son is too much like the father, silent and brooding, his thoughts are unknown to others. In contrast of these 2 characters, although the so...