How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Even if we did survive and Mr. Tanaka adopted us, would my own family cease to exist? (3.2)
The fragility of Chiyo's family causes her stress and anxiety from a very young age. We barely know her with a stable family because when the book opens, her mom is sick and her dad is basically helpless.
Quote #2
They hadn't been born into the same family; but Granny had adopted them both. (3.90)
As our narrator, Sayuri must clarify that "Mother," "Auntie," and "Granny" aren't actually related by blood, but by the unusual geisha rituals that bind them together like a "family."
Quote #3
To learn in a single moment that both my mother and my father had died and left me, and that my sister too was lost to me forever…at once my mind felt like a broken vase that would not stand. I was lost even within the room around me. (8.63)
In our section on fate and free will, we mentioned the bad omen of the cracked pot. Here it returns. Sayuri is like the vessel, shattered by the loss of her family. Losing your entire family is an almost impossible ordeal to bear, and it's amazing that Chiyo is able to pull through.