The complexities of love exposed in The Joy Luck ClubIn the novel "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan, the ignorance, contempt and the need for love are all reveled as the characters recount their life stories and memories. The characters in the novel take love for granted. By ignoring love, focusing more on material possessions, and hiding their true identities, the characters fail to realize the importance of love. One character who takes love for granted is Harold, Lena St. Clair's husband. This happens when Lena leans towards him in their car and says "I love you". He responds by asking Lena a question about her car, which seems more important to him than his relationship with her. Harold doesn't realize the importance of love. He only thinks about material goods. As Harold does not reveal his true nature, he reveals that he lacks love for himself as an individual. The love you have for yourself is a necessity in life because it ensures self-respect; if we respect ourselves, we will respect and love others. The story of Lindo Jong provides insight into the concept of revealing your true nature. “Keeping everything inside,” as Lindo Jong does, means not being able to fully experience love. Lindo Jong hides “under a red wedding scarf” to try to protect himself from the outside world. Her “hiding under the scarf” demonstrates that to be able to love, one must first be able to reveal one's true nature. Ying-Ying St. Clair is an example of the desire to remain hidden: "All these years I have kept my true nature hidden, running like a little shadow so no one can catch me." The image of the shadow directly relates to the red wedding scarf. They both attempt to hide their true nature, because the result of revealing your true self can be that of "pain." The importance of love goes unnoticed because the characters take love for granted and expect it to come naturally to them. Stopping taking love for granted happens later and has its results and consequences. Characters realize they are taking love for granted when they feel meaningless and uncomfortable, and stop doing so by ending the relationship or confronting the problem..