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Aunt Puss Chapman
Mrs. Weidenbach is the wife of Mr. Weidenbach, a wealthy banker who lives in town. Grandma dislikes the Weidenbachs, considering them selfish, superficial, and judgmental. Mrs. Weidenbach appears in several of the novel’s stories, often as the target of one of Grandma’s righteous, zany schemes. In “Centennial Summer,” Grandma resolves to outdo Mrs. Weidenbach at the Centennial Celebration’s various competitions, bringing the (supposedly) 103-year-old Uncle Grady aboard her float to steal Mrs. Weidenbach’s father’s title of “oldest settler in the community” and entering Mary Alice in the talent show to defeat Mrs. Weidenbach’s nephew.
Mrs. Weidenbach Quotes in A Long Way from Chicago
The A Long Way from Chicago quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Weidenbach or refer to Mrs. Weidenbach. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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4. The Day of Judgment Quotes
“Mrs. Dowdel, I’ll come clean. I don’t think I better enter my bread-and-butter pickles this year, and I’m going to tell you why. The depression is upon us. Times are hard.”
“They was never easy for me,” Grandma recalled.
“And quite unfairly,” Mrs. Weidenbach said, “people blame the bankers.”
“My stars,” Grandma said. “The bank forecloses on people’s farms and throws them off their land, and they don’t even appreciate it.”
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At length, she said, “I cook to eat, not to show off.”
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6. Things with Wings Quotes
“Vampires? No. The only bloodsuckers is the banks.” Grandma stroked her chins. “Movies is all pretend. They’re made in California, you know. But they prove a point. Make something seem real, and people will believe it. The public will swallow anything.”
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Mrs. Weidenbach Character Timeline in A Long Way from Chicago
The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Weidenbach appears in A Long Way from Chicago. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
1. Shotgun Cheatham’s Last Night Above Ground
...front room. People mill around the yard, trying to catch a glimpse of the coffin. Mrs. L. J. Weidenbach comes in with her ancient father, dressed in his full Civil War Union blues, to...
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4. The Day of Judgment
...then, there’s a knock at the door. Grandma leaves to investigate and comes back with Mrs. Weidenbach , the wife of the local banker. Mrs. Weidenbach explains that she’s “here on a...
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Mrs. Weidenbach continues. Grandma’s gooseberry pie is famous, and Mrs. Weidenbach thinks she should enter it so...
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...that her hatband is a blue ribbon. Then the three of them set out with Mrs. Weidenbach in the Weidenbachs’ huge Hupmobile, the gooseberry pie in a box at Joey’s feet. They’ve...
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...feels almost relieved, even if he’s disappointed about not getting to fly in the plane. Mrs. Weidenbach tries to console Grandma as they all eat their picnic lunch, but she is beyond...
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...turns and heads back to the fair, making her way to Buchanan and his plane. Mrs. Weidenbach and the kids follow her, bewildered, as she tries to convince Buchanan that it was...
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6. Things with Wings
...T Askew hurries over to Grandma. In a hushed, serious voice, she informs Grandma that Mrs. Weidenbach is willing to pay $15 for the stovetop hat. Grandma shrugs, explaining that the hat...
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...across her lap to reveal “initials [that] had magically appeared on the fraying hem: MTL.” Mrs. Weidenbach joins the crowd, the stovepipe hat in her hand. Mrs. Askew snatches the quilt back...
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7. Centennial Summer
Joe, Mary Alice, and Grandma are eating breakfast the next morning when Mrs. Weidenbach appears at the front door. Grandma groans as Mrs. Weidenbach explains that she’s come on...
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After Mrs. Weidenbach leaves, Grandma asks Mary Alice if she brought her tap shoes. Mary Alice guffaws; she...
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...After supper, Joe and Grandma head to the talent show. After the first few acts, Mrs. Weidenbach ’s nephew takes the stage, dressed in a ridiculous, old-timey outfit. He recites a silly,...
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...to finish working on their float. At eleven, the parade begins. The first float is Mrs. Weidenbach ’s, an elaborate display of flowers arranged on a truck bed. A hoop-skirted Mrs. Weidenbach...
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When Mrs. Weidenbach turns around and sees Grandma’s float, she’s irate at Grandma for showing her up. Mrs....
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