Grandmother Connor lives in the “Brick House” with her husband, Grandfather Connor. She is a loving, doting woman who serves as a buffer between her husband, Grandfather Connor, and the rest of the family. Her faith in God helps her bear her husband’s emotional abuse, and she uses her own strength to protect Vanessa, Beth, and the rest of the family from his wrath. Vanessa loves her dearly. Grandmother Connor is the only one who immediately and warmly greets Chris. She dies when Vanessa is 9 or 10 years old, in the same year that her younger brother, Roderick, is born.
Get the entire Horses of the Night LitChart as a printable PDF.
Grandmother Connor Character Timeline in Horses of the Night
The timeline below shows where the character Grandmother Connor appears in Horses of the Night. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Horses of the Night
...August and six-year-old Vanessa learns that her cousin, Chris, is coming to live with her Grandmother and Grandfather Connor in their “Brick House” in Manawaka. He is coming from Shallow Creek,...
(full context)
...Inside her grandparents’ house the kitchen is sweltering with the heat of the woodstove, and Grandmother Connor, a modest woman wary of giving way to vanity, is preparing a special dinner...
(full context)
...than speak to her condescendingly as she predicted he would. Beth greets Chris shyly but Grandmother Connor embraces him with kisses on both cheeks.
(full context)
...minutes late. The train wasn’t late, he just had the times wrong, and though both Grandmother Connor and Vanessa know this, they don’t contradict him. He criticizes Grandmother for using the...
(full context)
...have been lucky to have potato salad and that the special dinner of mock duck Grandmother chose to make is excessive, given that Chris’s family has no money and Grandfather is...
(full context)
...equally fond of Edna. Next, Vanessa’s brother Roderick is born in the same year that Grandmother Connor dies. These events are strange and unbelievable to her and consume her completely.
(full context)
