Molly, a large and untidy academic, kind and remote if not typically maternal, is David’s mother. She is content to live a simpler, less well-to-do life than her first husband, James. Remarried now to Frederick, their house is the one David calls home. Molly and her husband aim at an appearance of uncomformity, and they judge David and Harriet’s conventional family ideals. She provides financial support when her husband recommends that Ben be put into an institution and also to help pay for Helen’s boarding school, agreeing that Helen needs to get out of proximity to Ben.
Molly Quotes in The Fifth Child
The The Fifth Child quotes below are all either spoken by Molly or refer to Molly . 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 Vintage edition of The Fifth Child published in 1988.
Pages 3 – 33
Quotes
She did not realize, as David did, how annoyed these two parents were. Aiming, like all their kind, at an appearance of unconformity, they were in fact the essence of convention, and disliked any manifestation of the spirit of exaggeration, of excess. This house was that.
Related Characters:
Harriet Lovatt, David Lovatt, Molly , Frederick
Related Symbols:
The Victorian House
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Fifth Child LitChart as a printable PDF.
Molly Character Timeline in The Fifth Child
The timeline below shows where the character Molly appears in The Fifth Child. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Pages 3 – 33
...had divorced when he was seven, and David felt split between his homes. His mother, Molly, had remarried an academic, Frederick—both are “kind, if remote,” and they live in Oxford. David...
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...but he never has before, unlike his sister who preferred his father’s lifestyle. One afternoon, Molly and Frederick visit, surprised at the size of the house and at the large family...
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Molly suggests that James should visit, and soon afterwards he arrives with his wife, Jessica. They...
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Pages 33 – 74
...and Frederick answers that James will have to pay the majority, but that Frederick and Molly will chip in (the first time they have offered financial help), though everyone knows their...
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Pages 74 – 96
...and says that she must visit Ben. David tells her not to, but Harriet phones Molly and convinces her to share the address. Harriet drives the five hours to the institution....
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...visit for the summer holidays because Harriet has explained that Ben is hardly ever home. Molly and Frederick do not attend, unable to forgive Harriet for bringing Ben home. Among the...
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Pages 96 – 133
...(13) and Helen (11) ask to be sent to boarding school. They’ve asked James and Molly, respectively, to pay their school fees. Luke informs them that it will be better for...
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At Christmas, Luke stays with James and Helen goes to Molly’s house. Dorothy stays for three days, but takes Jane back to her house with her...
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...James brings Luke to visit, sensing that Harriet and David miss him. Helen stays with Molly, visiting very infrequently. Jane remains living with Dorothy and Sarah’s family, and when she visits...
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...wanted to be better than everyone and David says they wanted only to be themselves. Molly and Frederick bring Helen, now an attractive, self-sufficient, if distant, sixteen-year-old. James brings Luke, now...
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Molly tells David and Harriet they must sell the house. David publicly agrees with Harriet that...
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...be reached if he can’t find her. Ben takes the sheet of paper, marked with Molly and Frederick’s address, but Harriet finds the note discarded on the floor and she doesn’t...
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