One of the most poignant symbols in Room is the act of breastfeeding, which represents the close supportive bond between Ma and Jack. Jack refers to the ritual as “having some,” and though he is five years old at the start of the novel, he “has some” from Ma several times a day. Ma is slightly reluctant to breastfeed Jack so often as he’s getting older, but she continues because breastfeeding is a comfort and a balm for both of them. Breastfeeding is one component of bonding between new mothers and their infants, and a natural way of nourishing a newborn—but for Ma and Jack, the ritual of breastfeeding has become something more. Jack is not the only one being nourished by the act of breastfeeding—Ma is also emotionally comforted and nourished because the ritual keeps her close to Jack, and in this way, breastfeeding becomes a symbol of the symbiotic relationship between Ma and Jack and the mutual care and support they give to one another in the midst of their depressing, chaotic circumstances. After Ma and Jack leave Room and enter the real world, many people—including Dr. Kendrick and Dr. Clay, their doctors at the Cumberland Clinic, as well as Grandma—are confused or even put off by the fact that the five-year-old Jack still breastfeeds. Ma defensively states that there “was no reason to stop” breastfeeding Jack inside of Room, but what she doesn’t say is that there were many reasons to actually keep up with the practice, as it allowed Ma and Jack to sustain one another not just physiologically but emotionally. After Ma’s suicide attempt, she is hospitalized while Jack stays with Grandma and Steppa, and by the time she returns, her breasts have stopped producing milk; she tells Jack his days of “having some” are over. Though Ma can no longer provide Jack with physical nourishment—and though he no longer needs it—the mutually supportive relationship they share has been firmly cemented, and Donoghue suggests that they will continue to sustain and support one another in new ways as time goes by and they adjust to life in the real world.
Breastfeeding Symbol Timeline in Room
