Kate Keller Character Analysis in The Miracle Worker

Kate Keller is the mother of Helen Keller and the second, considerably younger wife of Captain Arthur Keller. A kind and loving woman, Kate is a loyal mother to Helen, trying again and again to teach her to talk and communicate. She convinces her husband to hire some of the finest doctors in the country and she’s instrumental in reaching out to Annie Sullivan, the teacher who ultimately teaches Helen to use sign language. And yet there is something constraining and stifling about Kate’s relationship with her daughter. She loves Helen, but she also babies Helen excessively, to the point where Helen has no incentive to learn to communicate: Kate gives Helen candy and attention no matter what she does. At the end of the play, it is Annie, not Kate, who embraces Helen, perhaps signaling that while Kate is Helen’s loving mother, it is Annie who has become the true maternal presence in Helen’s life.

Kate Keller Quotes in The Miracle Worker

The The Miracle Worker quotes below are all either spoken by Kate Keller or refer to Kate Keller. 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:

KELLER: Katie. How many times can you let them break your heart?
KATE: Any number of times.

Related Characters: Captain Arthur Keller (speaker), Kate Keller (speaker), Helen Keller

Page Number and Citation: 7

Explanation and Analysis:

Arthur and Kate Keller’s child, Helen Keller, is born a healthy baby, but loses her ability to see and hear after a serious fever. As a result, Arthur and Kate (especially Kate) feel a constant sense of pain and guilt while raising Helen. Kate believes that she has a duty to teach Helen how to communicate—no simple task, considering her condition. Kate convinces Arthur to contact doctors and teachers across the country (Arthur owns a newspaper, making this easier) and ask them to teach Helen. While dozens of educators come to the Keller house trying to help the Kellers’ child, 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. Rer

ANNIE: Any baby. Gibberish, grown-up gibberish, baby-talk gibberish, do they understand one word of it to start? Somehow they begin to. If they hear it, I'm letting Helen hear it.

Related Characters: Annie Sullivan (speaker), Helen Keller, Kate Keller

Page Number and Citation: 44

Explanation and Analysis:

At the beginning of Act Two, Annie continues to work one-on-one with Helen, showing her the hand signals for various basic English words. Kate Keller watches Annie working with Helen, and poses a question James Keller asked already: what’s the point of teaching Helen how to spell if Helen doesn’t even know what a word is? This time, Annie gives Kate a proper answer to the question. Helen will only be able to understand the concept of meaning if she understands sign language (or at least a couple words in sign language) already—in other words, the horse has to go 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. C

KATE: Miss Annie. You see, she's accustomed to helping herself from our plates to anything she—
ANNIE [Evenly]: Yes, but, I'm not accustomed to it.

Related Characters: Annie Sullivan (speaker), Kate Keller (speaker), Helen Keller

Page Number and Citation: 47-48

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, the Kellers are sitting at dinner and, as usual, Helen is stealing food from others’ plates and eating it with her bare hands. The unusual part of this scene, however, is the presence of Annie Sullivan, Helen’s new teacher. Annie refuses to indulge Helen’s behavior. She tries to correct and improve it, depriving Helen of food in order to train her to exercise restraint and learn some manners. Annie’s aggressive teaching methods anger Captain Arthur Keller, who is accustomed to letting Helen do more or less whatever she wants. The passage is a good example of how 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 recu

KATE: My Helen—folded her napkin—
(And still erect, with only her head in surrender, KATE for the first time that we see loses her protracted war with grief; but she will not let a sound escape her, only the grimace of tears comes, and sobs that shake her in a grip of silence.)

Related Characters: Kate Keller (speaker), Helen Keller

Page Number and Citation: 59

Explanation and Analysis:

In this ambiguous passage, Kate Keller learns that Annie Sullivan has made some important progress with Helen Keller. Annie has taught Helen how to fold her napkin—a task that’s required the better part of the day for Helen to learn. When Kate learns what Annie has done for her child, she begins to weep. While the audience in a theater obviously wouldn’t be reading the stage directions accompanying this action, the stage directions paint Kate’s reaction in an unusual light. Kate, Gibson writes, loses her war with grief. This is a slightly surprising way to interpret the scene—one could argue 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 aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tene

ANNIE: Mrs. Keller, I don't think Helen's worst handicap is deafness or blindness. I think it's your love. And pity.

Related Characters: Annie Sullivan (speaker), Helen Keller, Kate Keller

Page Number and Citation: 66

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, Annie Sullivan stands up to Arthur and Kate Keller and tells them the plain truth: the reason that Helen Keller hasn’t yet learned how to read and communicate is that her parents spoil her. Arthur and Kate obviously love their child, and want to treat her nicely—but after a certain point, their kindness becomes counterproductive. Kate in particular is reluctant to punish Helen for her misbehavior, and the result is that Helen is emboldened to misbehave again and again. Furthermore, it sends Helen the message that there’s no point in her concentrating on learning to communicate. Recognizing 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

ANNIE: The first year we had eighty, seventy died. The room Jimmie and I played in was the deadhouse, where they kept the bodies till they could dig—
KATE [closes her eyes]: Oh, my dear—
ANNIE: —the graves.
(She is immune to KATE's compassion.)
No, it made me strong. But I don't think you need send Helen there. She's strong enough.

Related Characters: Kate Keller (speaker), Annie Sullivan (speaker), James Sullivan / “Jimmie” (speaker), Helen Keller

Page Number and Citation: 69

Explanation and Analysis:

Annie Sullivan continues to tell Kate and Arthur Keller about her own early life. She and her brother James Keller grew up in abject poverty and later were moved into a state almshouse (something like a homeless shelter). Life in the almshouse was miserable, with people dying left and right. The remarkable thing about this passage, however, isn’t the horrors that Annie describes to Kate and Arthur—rather, it’s how passively and emotionlessly Annie describes those horrors. Even when Kate makes a sympathetic noise, Annie ignores her response and goes on describing the almshouse. She has lived in pain for so 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 e

JAMES [in pain] Don't—
KATE: Captain.
KELLER: He's afraid.
(He throws JAMES away from him, with contempt.)
What does he want out of me?
JAMES [AN OUTCRY]: My God, don't you know?
(He gazes from KELLER to KATE.)
Everything you forgot, when you forgot my mother.

Related Characters: James Keller (speaker), Kate Keller (speaker), Captain Arthur Keller (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 75-76

Explanation and Analysis:

In this scene, James’s impudence becomes too much for Captain Arthur Keller to bear. James mocks his father, obliquely, and Arthur responds by twisting James’s arm until James cries out in pain. This violent confrontation is enough to make James say, explicitly, what he has always been too intimidated to say: he resents his father for remarrying a younger woman, and in doing so, forgetting about James’s mother. James’s relationship with his father clearly isn’t good—but this is one of the only times in the play when Gibson gives some indication of why their relationship is so strained. James clearly 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. Nostr

JAMES: What does he want from me?
KATE: That's not the question. Stand up to the world, Jimmie, that comes first.
JAMES [A PAUSE, WRYLY]: But the world is him.
KATE: Yes. And no one can do it for you.
JAMES: Kate.
(His voice is humble.)
At least we—Could you—be my friend?
KATE: I am.

Related Characters: James Keller (speaker), Kate Keller (speaker), Captain Arthur Keller

Page Number and Citation: 86

Explanation and Analysis:

Early in Act Three, James and Kate have a heart-to-heart. James admits that he’s frustrated with his father. In part, James dislikes his father (because, as we learned in Act Two, he resents that his father remarried). But in part, James is mystified by his gruff, intimidating father, and is unsure what Arthur wants from him. Kate’s advice is simple but useful: she tells James that he’ll never learn what Arthur wants from him until he stands up to him. He has to take a leap of faith—assert his own values and opinions—if he’s ever to have a decent, respectful 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 ne

ANNIE: Yes, what's it to me? They're satisfied. Give them back their child and dog, both housebroken, everyone's satisfied. But me, and you.

Related Characters: Annie Sullivan (speaker), Kate Keller, Captain Arthur Keller, Helen Keller

Page Number and Citation: 94

Explanation and Analysis:

After two weeks of trying to teach Helen Keller how to understand language, Annie Sullivan has almost given up. Arthur Keller is prepared to take Helen back into the house, where—Annie knows full well—Helen will be spoiled and regress, unlearning all the valuable lessons in politeness and manners that Annie has taught her. But Annie refuses to let this happen. Helen’s father, Annie understands, doesn't really seem to care whether Helen can communicate or not. He just wants an obedient, easy-to-manage daughter—one who can be quiet and behave herself and not cause a fuss. Annie finds this simply disgraceful: from 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. Occa

JAMES: She's right, Kate's right, I'm right, and you're wrong. If you drive her away from here it will be over my dead-chair, has it never occurred to you that on one occasion you might be consummately wrong?

Related Characters: James Keller (speaker), Helen Keller, Captain Arthur Keller, Annie Sullivan, Kate Keller

Page Number and Citation: 107

Explanation and Analysis:

In this crucial moment, James Keller finally stands up to his father, Captain Arthur Keller. Throughout the play, James has been sullen and sarcastic around his father: he’s forever cracking jokes about his father’s air of gruff authority, which Arthur usually finds very annoying. It’s pretty obvious that James resents his father, but it’s also pretty clear that James lacks the courage to stand up to his father and say exactly how he’s feeling. But after paying attention to Annie and Helen’s lessons, James seems to find the courage to stand up for himself. Instead of using language as a 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. D

(KATE moves to HELEN, touches her hand questioningly, and HELEN spells a word to her. KATE comprehends it, their first act of verbal communication, and she can hardly utter the word aloud, in wonder, gratitude, and deprivation; it is a moment in which she simultaneously finds and loses a child.)

KATE: Teacher?

Related Characters: Kate Keller (speaker), Helen Keller

Page Number and Citation: 111

Explanation and Analysis:

In this poignant scene, Gibson describes Kate as simultaneously finding and losing her child, Helen. Helen has just learned how to communicate via sign language. Using the signs Annie has been teaching her for the last two weeks, she learns the names for the objects and people in her life: first water, then the stairs leading into her house, then “mother” (for Kate) and “teacher” (for Annie). When Helen first communicates with Kate, touching her hand to spell out a word, the word she spells is not “mother”—it’s “teacher.” One way to interpret this scene is that, over the course 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 i

Kate Keller Character Timeline in The Miracle Worker

The timeline below shows where the character Kate Keller appears in The Miracle Worker. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...begins late at night in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in the 1880s. A couple—a young woman named Kate Keller and a “hearty gentleman in his forties” named Captain Arthur Keller—are standing around a... (full context)

...the doctor that he has raised two children already, but that this is his wife Kate’s first child. The doctor advises the couple to wait for their baby daughter to get... (full context)

While Arthur Keller walks the doctor outside, Kate embraces her baby, murmuring that Arthur will post an editorial in his newspaper. Suddenly, she... (full context)

As soon as Helen attacks Martha, Percy rings a bell, which summons Kate Keller to come outside. Kate pulls the scissors out of Helen’s hands, and Martha and... (full context)

As Kate tries to pull Helen into the house, Aunt Ev murmurs, “Something ought to be done... (full context)

Kate asks Arthur Keller for permission to write to the oculist, but Arthur refuses. He stands... (full context)

...then realizes what Helen is trying to do: “she wants the doll to have eyes.” Kate takes pins and buttons from the sewing basket, attaches them to the doll, and gives... (full context)

...Suddenly, she overturns the cradle and Mildred comes tumbling out, but Arthur Keller catches her. Kate shouts to Helen that she mustn’t do things like this, and Arthur insists that it’s... (full context)

...when they go up, we’re back in the Keller household. Upstairs, Helen sits alone. Downstairs, Kate adjusts her bonnet, while a black servant named Viney attends to her. Kate explains to... (full context)

...dressed nicely. James explains that he’s dressing for Annie Sullivan, who’s due to arrive today. Kate greets Arthur and tells him that she’s headed off to meet Annie. Alone, Arthur studies... (full context)

The lights dim, revealing Annie Sullivan standing outside a railroad station, where James and Kate are waiting. James greets her and introduces himself. Annie replies, “I had a brother Jimmie.”... (full context)

Annie, recognizing that Kate looks dismayed, tries to “take the bull by the horns.” She admits that she’s young... (full context)

The lights dim, and when they rise, Annie, James, and Kate are coming back to the house. Arthur Keller greets Annie politely, just as Helen Keller... (full context)

As Annie meets Helen, Arthur and Kate talk about Annie. Kate likes her, but Arthur finds her “rough,” remarking that northerners “certainly... (full context)

The lights rise. Kate tells James to summon Arthur Keller for supper. James calls out to his father, and... (full context)

Arthur, realizing that Kate will never find the key, takes the ladder and climbs up to Annie’s room, telling... (full context)

Kate passes by the doorway and sees what Annie is doing. Annie explains that she’s teaching... (full context)

...the sewing card. Helen takes the needle and pokes Annie’s finger with it. Just then, Kate gives Helen some candy, which Helen accepts. Annie asks why Kate is rewarding Helen for... (full context)

...pump water. Inside, Helen is wandering around the table, Annie is studying Helen carefully, and Kate tries to eat her eggs while Helen pokes at the plate. Arthur and James argue... (full context)

Arthur and Kate explain to Annie that Helen is “accustomed to helping herself from our plates.” Annie retorts,... (full context)

Furiously, Arthur asks Kate to come outside and talk with him. James leaves also, leaving Annie and Helen alone.... (full context)

Helen wanders toward Kate’s chair, touching it with her hand. Annie goes over to Helen and tries to spell... (full context)

The room goes dark. Meanwhile, Kate, Viney, Aunt Ev, Mildred, Percy, and Martha stand outside. Aunt Ev complains that she’s been... (full context)

...her own plate, used a spoon, and folded her napkin. Annie retires to her room. Kate repeats, “My Helen-folded her napkin.” She begins to weep, as if she’s finally losing “her... (full context)

...feet and begins putting things in her suitcase. Meanwhile, in the garden house, Arthur and Kate argue about Annie, Arthur claiming that Annie can’t be much of a teacher if Helen... (full context)

...able to teach Helen, so long as she’s allowed to run wild. This news startles Kate. Kate tells Annie that Helen has always been bright—she even began talking when she was... (full context)

...and pity. Annie will never be able to teach Helen, so long as Arthur and Kate spoil her. Annie is willing to stay on, but only if Arthur and Kate give... (full context)

Annie tells Kate and Arthur about her own childhood. She grew up in “the state almshouse,” along with... (full context)

Alone in the garden house, Annie takes Kate’s hand and shows her the alphabet. The lights dim while, slowly, the characters move furniture... (full context)

As James walks out, Kate and Arthur appear, leading Helen to the garden house. Kate explains that they’ve been driving... (full context)

Meanwhile, in the house, James Keller mockingly asks Kate, how Annie manages to get everything she wants out of Kate. Furious, Arthur twists James’s... (full context)

Alone, Kate tells Arthur she’s proud of him for letting Annie have control over Helen. Arthur wonders... (full context)

...the main house, turns as if he’d heard the song, followed by Arthur Keller and Kate Keller. (full context)

Meanwhile, in the house, Arthur is telling Kate that she needs to eat something. Kate complains that she’s restless and nervous, but James... (full context)

Just then, Kate enters the garden house and inquires what Annie is doing. Annie quickly puts her glasses... (full context)

...But he agrees not to bring Helen back to the house until six. He and Kate exit the garden house, leaving the dog behind. (full context)

Kate comes to the garden house. Annie, seeing Kate, touches Helen’s hand to Kate’s cheek and... (full context)

...Helen feels the front door and removes the key from the lock. She runs to Kate, who takes the keys back from her. James walks into the house while, outside, Viney... (full context)

...of the porch, and the trellis. Annie calls for the Kellers to run outside. When Kate and Arthur rush outside, Annie guides Helen toward each one of her parents and then... (full context)

...Helen repeats it back to her. Helen then turns back to her mother. She taps Kate’s pocket until Kate retrieves the keys and gives them to Helen. It is their first... (full context)

...the color of the past.” But this time, there are no echoing voices. Very slowly, Kate sits down to the table, joining James and Arthur. Aunt Ev gets up to open... (full context)

Kate Keller Character Analysis

Kate Keller Quotes in The Miracle Worker

Act 1 Quotes

Act 2 Quotes

Act 3 Quotes

Kate Keller Character Timeline in The Miracle Worker