Conor’s Grandmother Character Analysis in A Monster Calls

Conor’s maternal grandmother. Conor’s grandmother is cold and somewhat strict, and Conor doesn’t like her very much. He doesn’t understand why she tries to make herself look young and still works. At the beginning of the book, Conor’s mother invites Conor’s grandmother to visit to help take care of Conor and herself. Conor is disdainful of her visit, both because she treats him like a child (even though he’s been taking care of his mother alone up to this point), and because her presence inherently indicates that something is wrong. As Conor’s mother gets worse and goes to the hospital, Conor is forced to move in with his grandmother, a prospect that he abhors because she enforces rules he has never had to follow, and he doesn’t feel like he belongs in her home. When the monster tells Conor the first tale, Conor immediately connects his grandmother to the character of the evil queen—someone who makes herself look younger and wants to rule the kingdom. But the monster’s story argues that just because the queen wasn’t nice, doesn’t mean that she was guilty of a terrible crime. This story eventually helps Conor see that just because he and his grandmother don’t get along very well, doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s a bad person or intentionally trying to hurt him. At the end of the book Conor and his grandmother reconcile, and agree to try to treat each other better going forward.

Conor’s Grandmother Quotes in A Monster Calls

The A Monster Calls quotes below are all either spoken by Conor’s Grandmother or refer to Conor’s Grandmother. 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:

Death, Denial, and Acceptance Theme Icon

He’d told no one about the nightmare. Not his mum, obviously, but no one else either, not his dad in their fortnightly (or so) phone call, definitely not his grandma, and no one at school. Absolutely not.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Conor’s Father, Conor’s Grandmother, The Monster

Page Number and Citation: 1

Explanation and Analysis:

“I’m going to be late,” Conor said, eyeing the clock.

“Okay, sweetheart,” she said, teetering over to kiss him on the forehead. “You’re a good boy,” she said again. “I wish you didn’t have to be quite so good.”

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley (speaker), Conor’s Mother (speaker), Conor’s Grandmother

Page Number and Citation: 17

Explanation and Analysis:

You think I tell you stories to teach you lessons? the monster said. You think I have come walking out of time and earth itself to teach you a lesson in niceness?

Related Characters: The Monster (speaker), Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Grandmother, The Young Prince, The Farmer’s Daughter, The Evil Queen

Page Number and Citation: 63

Explanation and Analysis:

There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.

Conor shook his head. “That’s a terrible story. And a cheat.”

It is a true story, the monster said. Many things that are true feel like a cheat. Kingdoms get the princes they deserve, farmers’ daughters die for no reason, and sometimes witches merit saving.

Related Characters: The Monster (speaker), Conor O’Malley (speaker), Conor’s Grandmother, Conor’s Mother, The Young Prince, The Farmer’s Daughter, The Evil Queen

Page Number and Citation: 64

Explanation and Analysis:

“We barely have room for the three of us, Con. Your grandma has a lot more money and space than we do. Plus, you’re in school here, your friends are here, your whole life is here. It would be unfair to just take you out of all that.”

“Unfair to who?” Conor asked.

His father sighed. “This is what I meant,” he said. “This is what I meant when I said you were going to have to be brave.”

Related Characters: Conor’s Father (speaker), Conor O’Malley (speaker), Conor’s Grandmother, Conor’s Mother

Page Number and Citation: 88

Explanation and Analysis:

She walked right past him, her face twisted in tears, the moaning spilling out of her again. She went to the display cabinet, the only thing remaining upright in the room.

And she grabbed it by one side—

And pulled on it hard once—

Twice—

And a third time.

Sending it crashing to the floor with a final-sounding crunch.

Related Characters: Conor’s Grandmother, Conor O’Malley, The Monster, The Parson

Page Number and Citation: 118

Explanation and Analysis:

His classmates kept their distance from him, too, like he was giving off a bad smell. He tried to remember if he’d talked to any of them since he’d arrived this morning. He didn’t think he had. Which meant he hadn’t actually spoken to anyone since his father that morning.

How could something like that happen?

But, finally, here was Harry. And that, at least, felt normal.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Father, Conor’s Mother, Conor’s Grandmother, Harry, Anton, Sully

Page Number and Citation: 125

Explanation and Analysis:

Conor’s Grandmother Character Timeline in A Monster Calls

The timeline below shows where the character Conor’s Grandmother appears in A Monster Calls. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...he’s been too afraid to tell anyone about it—certainly not his mother, and not his grandmother or father either, and no one at school. He hears someone calling his name, a... (full context)

...and it “[makes] Conor’s stomach hurt to see it.” Conor’s mother tells him that his grandmother is coming to visit the next day. Conor complains, arguing that they don’t need her... (full context)

...is upset, not only because he has to give up his room every time his grandmother visits but also because she talks to him like he is “an employee under evaluation.”... (full context)

When Conor’s grandmother arrives, she tells Conor immediately to put on a pot of tea for her and... (full context)

Conor brings the tea to his mother and grandmother. His grandma asks how school was, and he says it was fine—even though Lily was... (full context)

Since Conor’s grandmother doesn’t really cook, they have Chinese takeout for dinner. After dinner, Conor cleans up the... (full context)

Conor’s grandmother sighs angrily—though Conor thinks that she may not be angry at him. She says that... (full context)

Conor’s grandmother reiterates that when this is all over, she wants Conor to know that he has... (full context)

...he toppled enemies and slew dragons. The monster, glancing at Conor’s bedroom window, where his grandmother is sleeping, says that it is going to tell the story of a wicked queen. (full context)

Conor smiles, saying she deserved it. He then glances at his bedroom, where his grandmother is sleeping. He doesn’t want to burn her alive, but wonders if the monster could... (full context)

...if the lesson he’s supposed to learn is that he should be nice to his grandmother. The monster laughs at Conor, asking, “You think I have come walking out of time... (full context)

...tricked and cheated by the story, wondering how it’s supposed to save him from his grandmother. The monster emphasizes that it is not his grandmother that Conor needs saving from. Then... (full context)

...the floor in the middle of the night and then woke up late. Then his grandmother wouldn’t let him say goodbye to his mother because she said his mother had a... (full context)

After school, Conor’s grandmother tells Conor that his mother has to go to the hospital because she’s in a... (full context)

Conor is now staying at his grandmother’s house, and the monster hasn’t visited him in five days. He wonders if his grandmother... (full context)

Conor’s grandmother leaves to go to the hospital while Conor waits for his father. He goes up... (full context)

...would only be a visit, adamantly saying that he doesn’t want to live with his grandmother, and asks why he can’t live with his father in America. Conor complains about not... (full context)

Conor’s father argues that Conor’s grandmother has more money and space, and that it wouldn’t be fair to Conor to pull... (full context)

Conor goes into the house. His grandmother isn’t home yet, so he is entirely alone. He sits on the couch, relishing hearing... (full context)

...reads: 12:07 a.m. When he turns back around, the monster is there, sitting in his grandmother’s living room—though the room is far too small to hold it. The monster announces that... (full context)

...exhaustion. The monster commends him on destruction “properly done.” Conor is suddenly back in his grandmother’s sitting room—and he has destroyed nearly every inch of it. (full context)

Conor hears his grandmother pull into the driveway. He doesn’t move. When she walks into the hall, she freezes,... (full context)

Conor’s grandmother gives a final groan, not looking at Conor, and then goes to her bedroom. Conor... (full context)

...him. His father said then that Conor’s mother has “taken a turn,” and that his grandmother had gone to the hospital to talk to the doctors. (full context)

...monster has come: to cure his mother. Conor walks down the corridor and sees his grandmother and his father arguing. Conor asks what’s going on; his father says that he has... (full context)

...him, saying that he knows it will cure her. Conor’s father says that the boy’s grandmother is angry because she believes that neither of his parents have been honest with him... (full context)

Conor’s grandmother, who has barely been speaking to him since the sitting room incident, drives him back... (full context)

The next morning, Conor asks his grandmother to go to the hospital instead of going to school. She doesn’t answer. He asks... (full context)

...flexes his hands, and realizes how sore they are, like after the destruction of his grandmother’s sitting room. (full context)

Days pass. Conor’s grandmother doesn’t talk to Conor in the mornings before school, and no one at school talks... (full context)

Conor’s grandmother takes Conor to his mother’s hospital room. Conor had never been pulled out of school... (full context)

...to give to him. As the drugs enter her system, Conor’s mother falls asleep. Conor’s grandmother pokes her head in the room and Conor demands to be taken home—to his home.... (full context)

Conor’s grandmother drops Conor off at his home and then returns to the hospital. Conor realizes, looking... (full context)

Conor’s grandmother wakes Conor up at the foot of the yew tree, thanking God that she found... (full context)

In the car, Conor apologizes. Conor’s grandmother notes that they’re “not the most natural fit,” but that they’re going to have to... (full context)

Conor and his grandmother burst into his mother’s hospital room at 11:46 p.m. Her eyes are closed, and she... (full context)

A Monster Calls

Conor’s Grandmother Character Analysis

Conor’s Grandmother Quotes in A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls Quotes

Breakfast Quotes

The Rest of the First Tale Quotes

Champ Quotes

Destruction Quotes

Invisible Quotes

Conor’s Grandmother Character Timeline in A Monster Calls