Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

by

Judy Blume

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. makes teaching easy.

Gretchen Potter Character Analysis

Gretchen is one of Margaret’s new friends in Farbrook and one of the PTS’s. It’s implied that Gretchen, like Nancy, is already wearing a bra by the time of the first club meeting. Like the other girls, Gretchen always lists Philip Leroy as number one in her Boy Book, though Margaret wonders if Gretchen also has a crush on someone else but doesn’t want to admit it. Since Gretchen’s father is Dr. Potter, she agrees to sneak one of her dad’s anatomy books out of his office so the girls can study the male anatomy. She’s also the first PTS to start her period, and she angers Nancy by insisting that it doesn’t feel like much (though it does make her feel older). The novel also implies that Gretchen may be heavier than her friends; Nancy polices Gretchen’s cookie intake and after Gretchen starts her period, she shares that her mom said that Gretchen will now have to watch what she eats closely.

Gretchen Potter Quotes in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

The Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. quotes below are all either spoken by Gretchen Potter or refer to Gretchen Potter. 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:
Puberty Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

The others were already there. Janie Loomis, Gretchen Potter, and Nancy. That was it. We sat around on the porch and Nancy brought us cokes and cookies. When Gretchen helped herself to six Oreos at once Nancy asked her how much weight she’d gained over the summer. Gretchen put back four cookies and said, “Not much.”

Related Characters: Margaret Simon (speaker), Nancy Wheeler, Gretchen Potter, Janie Loomis
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“Not me,” Nancy said, proudly. “Mine’s a thirty-two double A.”

We were all impressed.

“If you ever want to get out of those baby bras you have to exercise,” she told us.

Related Characters: Nancy Wheeler (speaker), Margaret Simon, Gretchen Potter, Janie Loomis
Related Symbols: Bras
Page Number: 53
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

Also, we just about gave up on our Boy Books. For one thing the names never changed. Nancy managed to shift hers around. It was easy for her—with eighteen boys. But Janie and Gretchen and I always listed Philip Leroy number one. There was no suspense about the whole thing. And I wondered, did they list Philip Leroy because they really liked him or were they doing what I did—making him number one because he was so good-looking. Maybe they were ashamed to write who they really liked too.

Related Characters: Margaret Simon (speaker), Nancy Wheeler, Gretchen Potter, Janie Loomis, Philip Leroy, Moose Freed
Page Number: 78
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

The film told us about the ovaries and explained why girls menstroo-ate. But it didn’t tell us how it feels, except to say that it is not painful, which we knew anyway. Also, it didn’t really show a girl getting it. It just said how wonderful nature was and how we would soon become women and all that.

Related Characters: Margaret Simon (speaker), Mom, Nancy Wheeler, Gretchen Potter, Janie Loomis
Page Number: 111
Explanation and Analysis:

“Does it make you feel older?” I asked.

“Naturally,” Gretchen answered. “My mother said now I’ll really have to watch what I eat because I’ve gained too much weight this year. And she said to wash my face well from now on—with soap.”

“And that’s it?” Nancy said. “The whole story?”

“I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you, Nancy. But really, that’s all there is to tell. Oh, one thing I forgot. My mother said I may not get it every month yet. Sometimes it takes a while to get regular.”

Related Characters: Margaret Simon (speaker), Nancy Wheeler (speaker), Gretchen Potter (speaker), Janie Loomis
Page Number: 114
Explanation and Analysis:

Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. Gretchen, my friend, got her period. I’m so jealous God. I hate myself for being so jealous, but I am. I wish you’d help me just a little. Nancy’s sure she’s going to get it soon, too. And if I’m last I don’t know what I’ll do. Oh please God. I just want to be normal.

Related Characters: Margaret Simon (speaker), Nancy Wheeler, Gretchen Potter
Page Number: 111
Explanation and Analysis:
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Gretchen Potter Quotes in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

The Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. quotes below are all either spoken by Gretchen Potter or refer to Gretchen Potter. 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:
Puberty Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

The others were already there. Janie Loomis, Gretchen Potter, and Nancy. That was it. We sat around on the porch and Nancy brought us cokes and cookies. When Gretchen helped herself to six Oreos at once Nancy asked her how much weight she’d gained over the summer. Gretchen put back four cookies and said, “Not much.”

Related Characters: Margaret Simon (speaker), Nancy Wheeler, Gretchen Potter, Janie Loomis
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“Not me,” Nancy said, proudly. “Mine’s a thirty-two double A.”

We were all impressed.

“If you ever want to get out of those baby bras you have to exercise,” she told us.

Related Characters: Nancy Wheeler (speaker), Margaret Simon, Gretchen Potter, Janie Loomis
Related Symbols: Bras
Page Number: 53
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

Also, we just about gave up on our Boy Books. For one thing the names never changed. Nancy managed to shift hers around. It was easy for her—with eighteen boys. But Janie and Gretchen and I always listed Philip Leroy number one. There was no suspense about the whole thing. And I wondered, did they list Philip Leroy because they really liked him or were they doing what I did—making him number one because he was so good-looking. Maybe they were ashamed to write who they really liked too.

Related Characters: Margaret Simon (speaker), Nancy Wheeler, Gretchen Potter, Janie Loomis, Philip Leroy, Moose Freed
Page Number: 78
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

The film told us about the ovaries and explained why girls menstroo-ate. But it didn’t tell us how it feels, except to say that it is not painful, which we knew anyway. Also, it didn’t really show a girl getting it. It just said how wonderful nature was and how we would soon become women and all that.

Related Characters: Margaret Simon (speaker), Mom, Nancy Wheeler, Gretchen Potter, Janie Loomis
Page Number: 111
Explanation and Analysis:

“Does it make you feel older?” I asked.

“Naturally,” Gretchen answered. “My mother said now I’ll really have to watch what I eat because I’ve gained too much weight this year. And she said to wash my face well from now on—with soap.”

“And that’s it?” Nancy said. “The whole story?”

“I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you, Nancy. But really, that’s all there is to tell. Oh, one thing I forgot. My mother said I may not get it every month yet. Sometimes it takes a while to get regular.”

Related Characters: Margaret Simon (speaker), Nancy Wheeler (speaker), Gretchen Potter (speaker), Janie Loomis
Page Number: 114
Explanation and Analysis:

Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. Gretchen, my friend, got her period. I’m so jealous God. I hate myself for being so jealous, but I am. I wish you’d help me just a little. Nancy’s sure she’s going to get it soon, too. And if I’m last I don’t know what I’ll do. Oh please God. I just want to be normal.

Related Characters: Margaret Simon (speaker), Nancy Wheeler, Gretchen Potter
Page Number: 111
Explanation and Analysis: