Li’l Bit’s Grandmother Character Analysis in How I Learned to Drive

Li’l Bit’s grandmother is wife to Li’l Bit’s grandfather and the mother of Li’l Bit’s own mother. She is acted by the Teenage Greek Chorus. Li’l Bit’s grandmother is subservient to Big Papa, fulfilling his two basic needs, which she describes as having “the table set and the bed turned down.” That is, she sees a woman’s role as the provider of food and sex for men. At the same time, she also displays an attitude of sexual repression, trying to convince Li’l Bit that sex is painful and denying the existence of female orgasms. She blames Li’l Bit’s mother for getting pregnant at an early age, echoing the view that women are the sole figures of responsibility in their lives and that a man can’t be blamed for acting according to his “nature.”

Li’l Bit’s Grandmother Quotes in How I Learned to Drive

The How I Learned to Drive quotes below are all either spoken by Li’l Bit’s Grandmother or refer to Li’l Bit’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:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Theater Communications Group edition of How I Learned to Drive published in 2018.

TEENAGE GREEK CHORUS. (As Grandmother.) Your grandfather only cares that I do two things: have the table set and the bed turned down.

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 26

Explanation and Analysis:

Li’l Bit’s Grandmother Character Timeline in How I Learned to Drive

The timeline below shows where the character Li’l Bit’s Grandmother appears in How I Learned to Drive. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...hers. To make Li’l Bit laugh, Peck gets her to think of “Big Papa chasing Grandma around the living room.” Her laughter makes for a “great” shot. (full context)