Who is Auntie Hu from Dreams of Joy: A Novel and what is their importance?

Auntie Hu is the only one of Pearl's remaining family friends in Shanghai. Despite communist rule, she has managed to keep her bound feet and sustain her servants and decadent way of life. Despite her age, Auntie Hu never stopped fighting her personal freedom and eventually escaped, although no one knew if she ever made it to America as she hoped.