Stanley's mother insists there's no family curse, though she also can't ignore the fact that things go wrong for her family often. While Stanley is at Camp Green Lake, he and his mother write letters to each other. His mother appreciates Stanley's attempts to make it seem like he's at a real summer camp, as it makes her feel like a much wealthier parent.
Stanley's Mother Quotes in Holes
The Holes quotes below are all either spoken by Stanley's Mother or refer to Stanley's Mother. 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:
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Random House edition of Holes published in 1998.
).
Part 1, Chapter 16
Quotes
It was wonderful to hear from you. Your letter made me feel like one of the other moms who can afford to send their kids to summer camp.
Related Characters:
Stanley's Mother (speaker), Stanley Yelnats
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Holes LitChart as a printable PDF.

Stanley's Mother Character Timeline in Holes
The timeline below shows where the character Stanley's Mother appears in Holes. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 3
Stanley's mother often points out that not every Stanley Yelnats has been a failure—Stanley is the fourth...
(full context)
Part 1, Chapter 9
...off fast. When Squid asks about Stanley's stationery, Stanley explains he's going to write to Stanley’s mother . Stanley looks around the room, in awe of the fact that the boys destroyed...
(full context)
...his shoulder, so he turns to find Zero behind him. Stanley explains he doesn't want Stanley's mother to worry. Zero looks serious and possibly angry as he asks if "the shoes" had...
(full context)
Part 1, Chapter 16
...a letter for Stanley. Squid gives Stanley a hard time about receiving a letter from Stanley's mother , but X-Ray suggests the letter is probably from Stanley's girlfriend. Stanley waits to read...
(full context)
Zero startles Stanley asking him what's funny. Stanley initially refuses to tell Zero what Stanley's mother wrote, but eventually gives a basic explanation of Stanley's father's project and his mom's joke....
(full context)
Part 2, Chapter 41
...he liked sleeping outside because he wanted to be a Cub Scout. He notes that his mother was once a Girl Scout. Zero says that he and his mother always had to...
(full context)
Part 2, Chapter 43
...preparing for their journey back to Camp Green Lake, Stanley listens to Zero talk about his mother . Zero says they used to live in a real house, and his room was...
(full context)
Part 2, Chapter 46
...and doesn't know what they're talking about. Instead, he remembers a time when he and Stanley's mother rolled down a snowy hill. Stanley is so caught up in his memory, he doesn't...
(full context)
Part 3, Chapter 50
The narrator says that, despite the fact that Stanley's mother doubts that there was ever a curse, it's true that Stanley's father invented his foot...
(full context)