Unseen until the final moments of the story, Clare’s presence is felt by Jack throughout the story, as he can hear her moving furniture in the living room under Jo’s bedroom. Clare is six-months pregnant, and is repainting and re-arranging the living room, a task that Jack should be helping with but which he is delaying as long as possible. Jack and Clare’s marriage is not a happy one, and although he does not express his feelings to her directly, Jack has grown increasingly resentful toward his wife, whom he feels continually contradicts and undermines him. Even when Clare is not physically present, Jack feels her derision and disdain reflected in their young daughter, Jo, who is growing to look increasingly like Clare and does things that remind Jack of Clare’s behavior. Ultimately, Jack is not only unwilling to help Clare move their furniture despite her pregnancy, but he is so angry at her that he refuses to even look at her or speak to her. He sees her as the symbol of his own unhappiness and unfulfilled desire.
Clare Quotes in Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
The Should Wizard Hit Mommy? quotes below are all either spoken by Clare or refer to Clare. 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:
).
“Should Wizard Hit Mommy?”
Quotes
Sitting on the bed beside her, Jack felt the covers tug as her legs switched tensely. He was pleased with this moment—he was telling her something true, something she must know—and had no wish to hurry on. But downstairs a chair scraped, and he realized he must get down to help Clare paint the living room woodwork.
Related Characters:Jack, Jo, Clare
Related Symbols:The House
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
76
Explanation and Analysis:
Jack is content when Jo seems uncomfortable during the Roger Skunk story. As a storyteller, Jack relishes the ability to impact his young daughter, controlling what she views as “true” and all that she “must know.” Jack values his control over Jo’s worldview because he feels so little control in his own life, especially since he is in a marriage in which he views his wife to be constantly undermining him. In addition, by forcing Jo to face an unpleasant reality, Jack believes himself to be teaching her a life lesson about facing the same kinds of unpleasant realities that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occ
The woodwork, a cage of moldings and rails and baseboards all around them, was half old tan and half new ivory and he felt caught in an ugly middle position, and though he as well felt his wife's presence in the cage with him, he did not want to speak with her, work with her, touch her, anything.
Related Characters:Jack, Clare
Related Symbols:The House
Page Number and Citation:
82
Explanation and Analysis:
When Jack is finished telling Jo her story, he is finally able to come downstairs and help his wife. When he arrives, however, he is immediately too fatigued and disheartened from story time to help her, and just sits watching her work instead. Looking at the living room around him, which is in the process of changing color, Jack notes that he is stuck in an emotional limbo, between the present reality of a life that he finds unfulfilling and the future promise of a new child and more responsibilities tying him down. Without the medium of the Roger Skunk Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint
Clare Character Timeline in Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
The timeline below shows where the character Clare appears in Should Wizard Hit Mommy?. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
“Should Wizard Hit Mommy?”
...of furniture moving downstairs and remembers that he is supposed to be helping his wife, Clare, repaint the wood in their living room.
(full context)
...annoys Jack, since he is telling the story for his daughter’s benefit. Downstairs, Jack hears Clare moving more furniture. He notes that she should not be moving heavy things, as she...
(full context)
Jack does not give Jo a definitive answer, and he goes downstairs to finally help Clare with the furniture. She is halfway through changing the paint color in the living room....
(full context)
...woodwork—“moldings and rails an baseboards”—feels like a cage surrounding him, and that although he knows Clare is in the cage with him, he has no desire to make any kind of...
(full context)