What are the motifs in Dreams of Joy: A Novel by Lisa See?

A reoccurring idea is mother's love. The driving force of the women in the novel is their love for their children. This is a particularly interesting theme given that the novel is set in communist China during a time of extreme patriarchy. Despite the fact that Pearl was abused, raped, and left for dead in China as a teenager, she returns to the place of her nightmares in the hopes of saving her daughter from the same fate.