The motif of mothers and daughters is central to the novel and Jo’s journey of self-discovery. In Chapter 13, Jo reveals that she frequently thinks about the biological parents she has never met, terming the curiosity “a strange kind of agony” (116). Though Jo wonders about the identity of both parents, she is more interested in her mother. She assumes that her father left her mother, forcing her mother to abandon Jo. Jo also assumes that her mother must have been “poor like [her]” (117) and, without the edifying influence of Old Gin and the Bells, “uneducated” (117). Only these facts can explain Jo’s mother’s abandonment of her, since “it is harder for a woman to leave her child” (117).

Jo’s reflections sum up the assumptions and expectations built into the mother-daughter relationship. Motherhood is considered a natural state for all women, and mothers are assumed to be unconditionally loving. However, as the plot unfolds, Jo realizes all her assumptions about her mother were wrong. Not only is Mrs. Payne educated and wealthy, she also did abandon Jo, though she did so reluctantly. This fills Jo with great anger toward Mrs. Payne, making her note: “I detest the woman.