Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau Character Analysis in The Night Watchman

Patrice is one of the novel’s protagonists. Her mother, Zhaanat, is Thomas’s cousin, and Patrice thinks of herself as Thomas’s niece. In part because of the precarity of her home life—economically, emotionally, and physically because of her alcoholic, abusive father, Pogo Paranteau —Patrice has become self-reliant and highly values her independence. Her desire to maintain that independence often puts her at odds with prevailing gender norms of the time. For instance, she is her family’s primary breadwinner with her work at the Turtle Mountain Jewel Bearing Plant. Before the novel’s present, Patrice was sexually assaulted by Bucky and his friends, including her coworker Doris’s brother. The boxing coach and math teacher, Lloyd Barnes, is infatuated with Patrice, though she rebuffs him. After her sister, Vera, goes missing, Patrice feels compelled to go search for her, showing her deep loyalty to her family above all else. She travels to Minneapolis to try and track her down and meets Jack Malloy, who runs a nightclub where she briefly becomes a performer, wearing the waterjack suit nightly. When the circumstances at the nightclub—and Jack’s attempts to manipulate her—become untenable, she escapes in the middle of the night. She then brings Vera’s baby back home from Minneapolis. While Vera is missing, Patrice and Wood Mountain—along with Patrice’s mother, Zhaanat—become surrogate parents to Vera’s baby. At the same time, Patrice and Wood Mountain begin a romantic relationship, though it ultimately fizzles out. Through that relationship, the novel explores Patrice’s ambivalence toward love, romance, and the social expectations society placed on women in the 1950s. Patrice’s biggest dream, which she reveals to Millie Cloud, is to one day go to college.

Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau Quotes in The Night Watchman

The The Night Watchman quotes below are all either spoken by Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau or refer to Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau. 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:

Power, Solidarity, and Community Action Theme Icon

Word went out that dough was in Patrice’s bucket. That she’d forgotten to cook it, bake it, fry it […] Saint Anne pushed a buttered bun across the table to Patrice. Someone handed an oatmeal cookie down the line. Doris gave her half a bacon sandwich.

Related Characters: Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau, Doris Lauder

Page Number and Citation: 8

Explanation and Analysis:

Mr. Vold forbade speech. Still, they did speak. They hardly remembered what they said, later, but they talked to one another all day.

Related Characters: Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau, Walter Vold

Page Number and Citation: 10

Explanation and Analysis:

There were times when Patrice felt like she was stretched across a frame, like a skin tent. She tried to forget that she could be so easily blown away. Or how easily her father could wreck them all. This feeling of being the only barrier between her family and disaster wasn’t new, but they had come so far since she started work.

Related Characters: Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau

Page Number and Citation: 20

Explanation and Analysis:

Valentine said, “You can have my days.”

“What do you mean?”

“My sick days. Mr. Vold told me that I could give my days to you. Under the circumstances.”

Related Characters: Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau, Valentine Blue, Walter Vold

Page Number and Citation: 62

Explanation and Analysis:

Gawiin ingikendizo siin. I am a stranger to myself […] This was again the sort of feeling and thinking that could only be described in Chippewa, where the strangeness was also humorous and the danger surrounding this entire situation was the sort that you might laugh at, even though you could also get hurt, and there were secrets involved, and desperation, for indeed she had nowhere, after her unthinkable short immediate future rolling in the water tank, nowhere to go but the dressing room down at the other end of the second-floor hall of Log Jam 26.

Related Characters: Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau

Page Number and Citation: 132

Explanation and Analysis:

“A pimp is someone who owns the lady. Takes the money she got paid for having sex, see?”

“No. I don’t see,” said Patrice flatly. But she did see. Jack would have tampered with her slightly, just enough so that when somebody else came along she’d have that shame, then more shame, until she got lost in shame and wasn’t herself.

Related Characters: Betty Pye, Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau

Page Number and Citation: 296

Explanation and Analysis:

And Patrice thought another thing her mother said was definitely true—you never really knew a man until you told him you didn’t love him. That’s when his true ugliness, submerged to charm you, might surface.

Related Characters: Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau, Zhaanat

Page Number and Citation: 344

Explanation and Analysis:

Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau Character Timeline in The Night Watchman

The timeline below shows where the character Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau appears in The Night Watchman. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Oppression and Supposed Good Intentions Theme Icon

...character in the book, is the real name of the person who introduced the bill. Pixie, aka Patrice, is “completely fictional.” (full context)

Pixie Paranteau fixes a jewel blank onto a block for drilling. Rage helps her focus, and... (full context)

...all day. He leaves his office every few hours to do his inspections. He tells Patrice she’s doing excellent work. At lunch, with the cafeteria not yet set up, Patrice realizes... (full context)

Doris gives Patrice and Valentine a ride home, and Pixie asks to be dropped off before the path... (full context)

Patrice stacks wood behind the house. It would be Pokey’s job, but he’s at boxing practice.... (full context)

Patrice wishes she had a watch so she could be sure to meet Doris and Valentine... (full context)

...to make sure things would be okay between Pokey and Pokey’s father. Then he saw Pixie, and now, every time he drops Pokey off, he hopes he’ll see Pixie again. (full context)

When Patrice returns home, she finds her mother’s family camped outside with frayed canvas tents and lean-to... (full context)

The next day, at work, Patrice gets a note from Betty Pye, who has just come back after being off for... (full context)

...Wobleszynski. Joe Wobble’s family, years back, had encroached on the land of Wood Mountain’s grandmother. Patrice and Valentine watch the fight too. During the fight, Wood Mountain lets Joe Wobble’s punches... (full context)

Mr. Vold tells Patrice that she has three days total that she can take off for work. After she... (full context)

Back home, Patrice packs for her trip. She goes to the Relocation Office to find a train schedule... (full context)

On the ride to Rugby, Doris asks Patrice if she has a boyfriend. She says she’s heard that Barnes likes her. Patrice says... (full context)

Doris tells Patrice that her brother is friends with Bucky. Patrice understands then that Doris’s brother was one... (full context)

In his mind, Barnes, a math teacher, attaches numbers to people. Patrice he sees as a 26, even though she’s just 19. He loves the curl of... (full context)

On the train, Patrice is unsure what to do when a man asks her to change seats so he... (full context)

...Mountain is about to leave the train at Fargo, he copies down the addresses where Patrice is going to check for Vera. Patrice gives him two addresses but has another address... (full context)

When Patrice arrives in Minneapolis, she doesn’t know how she’ll get to the first address where she... (full context)

...to a place with neon letters over the door that say Log Jam 26. To Patrice, it looks like a bar, and she says she doesn’t go into bars. The man... (full context)

Patrice crumples on the floor and yells out that the men are trying to kidnap her.... (full context)

When Patrice brings up finding her sister again, Jack offers to help her look and says that... (full context)

Patrice goes with Jack to the first address she has to look for Vera. The yard... (full context)

At the next place, Patrice goes to each apartment but doesn’t get an answer. Jack says that it must be... (full context)

The next morning, Patrice agrees to be the waterjack. She puts on the suit, and Jack shows her the... (full context)

...fingers together, trying to cloak how disappointed he is. Wood Mountain tells Barnes he saw Patrice on the train, and that, since he doesn’t have a fight, he might go down... (full context)

Patrice is lowered into the tank wearing the waterjack costume. She swings around on the rope... (full context)

The next morning, Patrice takes a taxi to the first place where she looked for Vera. She also shows... (full context)

Patrice goes back to the dog and asks where Vera is. The dog gives four more... (full context)

At Patrice’s insistence, they go next to Bernadette’s house. When Bernadette recognizes Patrice, she cries out with... (full context)

...doesn’t pay much attention at first. But when he looks closer, he sees that it’s Patrice. He walks toward the tank, and when he raises a fist to pound on the... (full context)

After the show, when the waitress brings Patrice her meal, she also passes Patrice a note from Wood Mountain. The note says that... (full context)

Patrice locks herself in her room and tells herself to wake up when it’s pitch dark.... (full context)

As they walk back to Patrice’s home, Wood Mountain tells Patrice that he thought of a temporary name for the baby:... (full context)

At home, Patrice tells Zhaanat that she wasn’t able to find Vera and only brought the Little Boy... (full context)

The next morning, Patrice goes to work with Doris and Valentine. At work, by the end of the day,... (full context)

...group goes to dinner. When Thomas walks out of the restaurant, he sees Pogo Paranteau, Patrice’s father, who is drunk. At first, Thomas tries to get Pogo to let them take... (full context)

After a week of trying, Zhaanat starts to give milk. Patrice had believed her mother but is still surprised. To try and get Patrice’s attention, Barnes... (full context)

Patrice and Zhaanat go to Thomas’s house, seeking advice. Patrice tells him about the dog she... (full context)

...from the “shining people.” On Saturday, everyone gathers for the parade. Representing the jewel plant, Patrice rides in the back of Doris Lauder’s car and tosses some candy to the Mormon... (full context)

...then Valentine, Barnes experienced kissing like he never had before. But he has feelings for Patrice, Barnes thinks. Or does he? Maybe, he thinks, he is becoming “promiscuous.” (full context)

...baby at the Paranteau house, Wood Mountain hears the thwack, thwack of an ax as Patrice chops wood. With each thwack, Wood Mountain feels a crack in his chest. Barnes gets... (full context)

Since the Homecoming weekend, Patrice has noticed Doris and Valentine whispering to each other about something they won’t tell her.... (full context)

As she walks down the path home, Patrice sees that Wood Mountain is visiting the baby again. He asks Patrice if she thinks... (full context)

...Wobble is trying to fake him out too. She also teases him about him liking Patrice before she walks away, lamenting that Wood Mountain doesn’t have feelings for her. (full context)

Patrice and Valentine come early to the fight and stand close to the ring. Juggie Blue... (full context)

It was so unfair, Patrice thinks. Even though Patrice is the best worker, Valentine had been given the promotion. And... (full context)

At coffee, Betty Pye tells Patrice how to get away from men she doesn’t like and how to find out if... (full context)

After the first snow, Patrice thinks that she’ll have to wait until spring to test Betty Pye’s information. She had... (full context)

Patrice falls suddenly and then sits in the leaves. She takes off her snow shoes and... (full context)

Patrice and Pokey set snares outside. They walk back up to Vera’s cabin. After he looks... (full context)

When Patrice comes back from work, she sees the bear hanging from a tree, ready to be... (full context)

On the first night watch, Patrice eats a bowl of soup that Juggie cooked. The sacred fire has been burning since... (full context)

...unable to focus on his work. It’s because he’s afraid, he thinks. Just before Christmas, Patrice’s eyes begin to smart. She bathes them in medicine in secret at her job, afraid... (full context)

This is the first time Zhaanat’s medicine hasn’t worked, Patrice thinks about her eyes. “White-man diseases need white-man cures,” Zhaanat says. She travels to a... (full context)

In the moment, though, Patrice had wanted to say that she wanted him too. Patrice thinks of something that her... (full context)

Patrice had been in school with Bucky since first grade. The summer before, when she got... (full context)

When Bucky’s mouth twisted and then the same illness spread down his side, Patrice knew she herself had done it. Her hatred had been so powerful it had flown... (full context)

Patrice goes to an eye clinic and is told she needs glasses. After she gets glasses,... (full context)

...Blue, Thomas, and Millie Cloud. They drive to the jewel bearing plant and eventually convince Patrice to come too. At Patrice’s house, Millie takes notes when Zhaanat explains the plants that... (full context)

Patrice walks into the gallery that overlooks the floor of the House of Representatives. She notices... (full context)

...but one that interested Watkins, which meant it was a game that could erase them. Patrice feels spent. She sees an article in the newspaper about the woman who fired the... (full context)

...the baby on the cradle board. Now would be the perfect time, he thinks. If Patrice came home now, he would ask her again to marry him. He’s sure she’ll say... (full context)

...to call the ambulance and make sure Thomas went to the hospital. As a relative, Patrice is the only one allowed in the room. When the nurse assures her that Thomas... (full context)

In the hospital bed, Thomas drifts back and forth in time. He thinks of when Patrice swam up to his boat in the lake and the fear he felt when he... (full context)

In Millie’s studio, Patrice asks her what she would have to do to become a lawyer. She thinks of... (full context)

...missing tooth. They both watch the baby with a similar kind of joy. One day, Patrice comes home and recognizes it. Her feelings of confusion and desire and possible love for... (full context)

Back at work, they’ve signed a petition to try and get coffee breaks reinstated. Patrice is working extra hard because she wants to ask for a raise. She’s now supporting... (full context)

Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau Character Analysis

Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau Quotes in The Night Watchman

Lard on Bread Quotes

The Skin Tent Quotes

Valentine’s Days Quotes

The Waterjack Quotes

The Promotion Quotes

New Year’s Soup Quotes

Patrice “Pixie” Paranteau Character Timeline in The Night Watchman