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Constanzia “Connie” Corleone
Mama Corleone, whose first name does not appear in the novel, is the wife of Don Vito Corleone and the mother of Sonny, Fredo, Michael, and Connie. Born in Sicily, Mama Corleone immigrates to New York in the early 20th century, where she marries Vito at a young age. Her role in the novel is that of a passive homemaker and devout Catholic who cares for her children and has no role in her husband’s criminal operations. Unlike the articulate Vito, Mama Corleone speaks with a heavy, stereotypical Italian accent and is a largely voiceless character, further attesting to her relative unimportance as a character in a world in which men hold compete power in both personal and professional matters. Despite her minor role, however, Puzo indicates that Mama Corleone is well aware of the reality of her husband’s “business” and merely chooses to be silent about it.
Mama Corleone Quotes in The Godfather
The The Godfather quotes below are all either spoken by Mama Corleone or refer to Mama Corleone. 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:
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Chapter 19 Quotes
She was quite content not to share the pain of her men, after all did they share the pain of women?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mama Corleone Character Timeline in The Godfather
The timeline below shows where the character Mama Corleone appears in The Godfather. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 15
...would implicate him as having knowledge of Michael’s whereabouts. Before leaving the mall, Kay greets Mama Corleone . She offers Kay coffee and tells her that Don Corleone and Michael are fine...
(full context)
Chapter 16
Carlo is able to beat Connie with relative impunity because Vito and Mama Corleone vow they will not interfere in their children’s marriages. Shortly after the wedding, Connie told...
(full context)
Chapter 19
...on whiskey and falls asleep. As Carlo sleeps, Connie calls her family in Long Beach. Mama Corleone answers but is unable to interpret Connie’s “hysterical” speech. She passes the phone to Sonny....
(full context)
...Sonny’s bodyguards arrive. They call Tom Hagen to tell him that Sonny is dead. As Mama Corleone bustles around in the kitchen, “quite content not to share the pain of her men,”...
(full context)
Chapter 25
Kay speaks to Mama Corleone , who informs her that Michael has been home for six months. Kay is shocked....
(full context)
Chapter 28
...now married to Kay, and they have a baby girl. Kay has grown closer to Mama Corleone and she considers converting from Protestantism to Catholicism. Mama Corleone attends church every morning, where...
(full context)
Chapter 32
Outside of the mall, Kay meets Mama Corleone , who is sitting in a car “dressed in her widow black.” Kay gets into...
(full context)
