"Family Ties" is Clarice Lispector's short story of family dynamics and the ties which simultaneously draw together and bind too tight. The main characters in the story are Catherine, a thirty-two-year old woman, and her mother Severina. Catherine's husband Tony and their child are the only other characters.

Catherine accompanies her mother in a taxi on the way to the train station. Severina's two-week visit with her daughter and her family has come to an end, and the awkward mannerisms of the two women make it obvious that the visit has been a strained one. In order to make conversation, Severina repeatedly checks her two suitcases and wonders if she has forgotten anything. Catherine answers that Severina has not forgotten anything.

Catherine recalls the departure scene between Severina and Tony, who has found it difficult to have his mother-in-law in his home for two weeks...