Tan uses a chess metaphor to explain Waverly's feelings and her battle with her mother: "In her hands, I always became the pawn. I could only run away. And she was the queen, able to move in all directions, relentless in her pursuit, always able to find my weakest spots." In addition to figuratively expressing Waverly's relationship with her mother, this metaphor also serves to unify the structure of the book. It continues the chess metaphor central to "Rules of the Game," and thus it links the two stories.
Notice, however, that nowhere has Mrs. Jong directly criticized Rich: The perception of maternal disapproval is all in Waverly's mind. For example, Waverly interprets her mother's remark about Rich's freckles — which she herself elicited — as an insult. Waverly responds to her mother's remark "a bit too heatedly." Clearly she is looking for a confrontation. Similarly, the Jongs do not criticize Rich's clumsy attempt to use chopsticks or his gauche gift of wine — only Waverly does. In the same way, Rich has no way of knowing that Mrs. Jong, by tradition, criticizes her own cooking as a way of eliciting compliments. Waverly is horrified when Rich agrees with Mrs. Jong's criticism about her famous steamed pork and preserved vegetable fish. Yet, because Waverly did not brief Rich about her mother's habits, it almost seems as if Waverly was waiting for him to fail. This behavior is called a "self-fulfilling prophecy." Waverly has decided what her view of the world is, collected information to support it, and finally shared her view with others as "truth." In communicating this way, people can actually change their own behavior, and that of others, so that the result affects their own distorted view. Waverly is so busy finding fault with Rich that she does not even realize that her mother has already acknowledged their love, as well as their probable plans to marry. In a fury, Waverly rushes over to her mother's house to assert herself.
