The squabbling between Mrs. Sorci and Teresa is an ironic counterpoint to Lena and her mother's miseries. Lena envies them their battles, their ability to voice their feelings, their love. She wishes that her mother would rant and scream — anything but retreat into the invisible wall of madness. She cries with joy when she realizes the strength of the bond that clasps the feuding Mrs. Sorci and her daughter.
At the end of this section, Lena dreams of a sacrifice that will bring her mother back to sanity. Her dream echoes An-mei Hsu's explanation of her mother's blood sacrifice in "Scar." To save Popo, the daughter slices a section of her arm into the broth. "Even when I was young," the narrator says, "I could see the pain of the flesh and the worth of the pain." Here, the sacrifice is futile. Horribly painful, it yields no blood nor any shredded flesh. Lena can only dream of its ability to pull her mother through the wall of madness.
