Mother (Vivien Baxter) Character Analysis in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Bailey and Maya’s mother is a beautiful light-skinned black woman who, according to Marguerite, looks just like a movie star. She is no longer with the children’s father, and dates other men over the course of the book (one of whom, Mr. Freeman, rapes Marguerite). Vivien, though a frequently absent mother, is full of life and joy and cares deeply for her children.

Mother (Vivien Baxter) Quotes in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings quotes below are all either spoken by Mother (Vivien Baxter) or refer to Mother (Vivien Baxter). 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:

Race, Inequality, and Identity Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Bantam Books edition of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings published in 1993.

I laughed because, except that she was white, the big movie star looked just like my mother…and it was funny to think of the whitefolks’ not knowing that.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 118-119

Explanation and Analysis:

Mother (Vivien Baxter) Character Timeline in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The timeline below shows where the character Mother (Vivien Baxter) appears in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

When they finally arrive and see their mother, Vivien, the children are blown away. She is light skinned (“butter colored”) and wears lipstick.... (full context)

One of their mother’s brothers tells Marguerite one day that it doesn’t matter if she isn’t pretty, because she... (full context)

Their mother has a live-in boyfriend named Mr. Freeman. He is fat and ugly and seems to... (full context)

Marguerite begins sleeping in her mother’s bed because of nightmares. One morning she wakes up after her mother has left, and... (full context)

One afternoon when Vivien and Bailey are out for the day, Mr. Freeman calls Marguerite over to him. She... (full context)

...hard and painful for her to sit on. She goes home and goes to bed. Mother returns and makes Marguerite soup, believing her to have come down with some virus. Mr.... (full context)

...sentence even starts he is found beaten to death outside town. It is likely that Vivien’s brothers killed him. Meanwhile, Vivien also decides that Marguerite and Bailey would be better off... (full context)

Later Bailey explains to Marguerite that he’d seen Mother at the movies—a white actress that looked exactly like Vivien was in the movie he... (full context)

...to life in California. Looking back, Maya can see how remarkable it was that her grandmother adjusted to living in LA, which was so different and so far away from the... (full context)

Bailey and Marguerite drive to San Francisco with their mother (Vivien). They live in a dingy Oakland apartment. One night Mother wakes Marguerite up at... (full context)

...frightened and runs all the way home, where she is comforted. Not long after this, Mother marries Daddy Clidell, who will be the first father Marguerite has ever known. (full context)

...Big Bailey. Dolores accuses her of eavesdropping. The argument escalates until Dolores ends up calling Vivien a whore, which sends Marguerite into a rage. She slaps her and tackles Dolores. They... (full context)

...for difference that she hadn’t had before. After her wound is healed, she calls her mother and returns to her. When she sees her she knows her mother is a fine... (full context)

Bailey and his mother’s relationship has become fraught and contentious. They push each other’s buttons and drive each other... (full context)

...a teenage girl, becomes interested in sex and sexuality. One night she confesses to her mother—with great difficulty—that she believes something is “growing” on her vagina. She explains what she’s noticed,... (full context)

...from everyone, though she avoids lying outright about it. Though her body is changing, her mother asks her no questions, seemingly unaware of Maya’s more feminine figure. Maya suddenly finds school... (full context)

Vivien and Daddy Clidell respond capably—they assure her everything is going to be okay, and buy... (full context)