The Power

The Power

by

Naomi Alderman

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Power makes teaching easy.

Margot Cleary Character Analysis

Margot is the mayor of an unnamed city in New England. At the beginning of the book, Margot expresses frustration over the fact that she feels she is more competent than the governor of the state, Daniel Dandon. But when her daughter Jocelyn awakens the power in her, Margot feels more and more empowered to stand up to Daniel and carve her own political path. She thinks frequently about the fact that she can kill him, which puts her at ease. Without his knowledge, she proposes state-wide government programs for girls where they can learn to control their power, called the NorthStar training camps. Margot runs against Daniel for governor and beats him when she accidentally shocks him during their debate—an action the voters believe makes her strong. Gradually, Alderman depicts Margot’s descent into corruption. She teams up with Tatiana Moskalev and provides her with girls from the NorthStar camps as a private army; later, the girls are given a black market drug called Glitter to enhance their power. At the end of the book, on the verge of global warfare, Margot (who has become a U.S. senator) tells the President of the United States that he should stand with Bessapara at any cost, knowing that the more NorthStar girls are deployed worldwide, the more money she will make as one of its founders. Ultimately she wants women to gain power even at the cost of her own daughter, as Jocelyn falls victim to Darrell while she is employed in Bessapara by NorthStar. Thus, Margot serves as an example of how the capacity for violence leads to political power, and how that power is ultimately very corrosive.

Margot Cleary Quotes in The Power

The The Power quotes below are all either spoken by Margot Cleary or refer to Margot Cleary. 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 and Violence Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

The shape of power is always the same; it is the shape of a tree. Root to tip, central trunk branching and re-branching, spreading wider in ever-thinner, searching fingers.

Related Characters: Allie/Eve, Roxy Monke, Margot Cleary, Neil Adam Armon, Bernie Monke
Related Symbols: Tree
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5: Margot Quotes

Already there are parents telling their boys not to go out alone, not to stray too far. “Once you’ve seen it happen,” says a gray-faced woman on TV. “I saw a girl in the park doing that to a boy for no reason, he was bleeding from the eyes. The eyes. Once you’ve seen that happen, no mom would let her boys out of her sight.”

Related Characters: Margot Cleary
Page Number: 23
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10: Margot Quotes

Nothing that either of these men says is really of any great significance, because she could kill them in three moves before they stirred in their comfortably padded chairs.

It doesn’t matter that she shouldn’t, that she never would. What matters is that she could, if she wanted. The power to hurt is a kind of wealth.

She speaks quite suddenly, across Daniel, sharp like the knock at a door. “Don’t waste my time with this, Daniel,” she says.

Related Characters: Margot Cleary (speaker), Daniel Dandon
Page Number: 76
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26: Margot Quotes

“You want to employ NorthStar girls yourself.”
“As my private army, here and on the border.”
It’s worth a lot of money. […] The board would be very happy to continue their association with Margot Cleary until the end of time if she could pull this off.
“And, in exchange, you want...”
“We are going to alter our laws a little. During this time of trouble. To prevent more traitors giving away our secrets to the North. We want you to stand by us.”

Related Characters: Margot Cleary (speaker), Tatiana Moskalev (speaker)
Page Number: 249
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 29: Tunde Quotes

Thus, we institute today this law, that each man in the country must have his passport and other official documents stamped with the name of his female guardian. Her written permission will be needed for any journey he undertakes. We know that men have their tricks and we cannot allow them to band together.

Related Characters: Margot Cleary, Tunde Edo, Tatiana Moskalev
Page Number: 272
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 43 Quotes

There is a voice in Margot’s head. It says; You can’t get there from here.
She sees it all in that instant, the shape of the tree of power. Root to tip, branching and re-branching. Of course, the old tree still stands. There is only one way, and that is to blast it entirely to pieces.

Related Characters: Margot Cleary, Jocelyn Cleary, The voice , Darrell Monke, Bernie Monke
Related Symbols: Tree
Page Number: 364
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 47 Quotes

When the historians talk of this moment they talk about “tensions’’ and “global instability.” They posit the “resurgence of old structures” and the “inflexibility of existing belief patterns.” Power has her ways. She acts on people, and people act on her.
When does power exist? Only in the moment it is exercised. To the woman with a skein, everything looks like a fight.
UrbanDox says: Do it.
Margot says: Do it.
Awadi-Atif says: Do it.
Mother Eve says: Do it.
And can you call back the lightning? Or does it return to your hand?

Related Characters: Allie/Eve, Margot Cleary, Neil Adam Armon, UrbanDox, Awadi-Atif
Page Number: 370
Explanation and Analysis:
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Margot Cleary Quotes in The Power

The The Power quotes below are all either spoken by Margot Cleary or refer to Margot Cleary. 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 and Violence Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

The shape of power is always the same; it is the shape of a tree. Root to tip, central trunk branching and re-branching, spreading wider in ever-thinner, searching fingers.

Related Characters: Allie/Eve, Roxy Monke, Margot Cleary, Neil Adam Armon, Bernie Monke
Related Symbols: Tree
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5: Margot Quotes

Already there are parents telling their boys not to go out alone, not to stray too far. “Once you’ve seen it happen,” says a gray-faced woman on TV. “I saw a girl in the park doing that to a boy for no reason, he was bleeding from the eyes. The eyes. Once you’ve seen that happen, no mom would let her boys out of her sight.”

Related Characters: Margot Cleary
Page Number: 23
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10: Margot Quotes

Nothing that either of these men says is really of any great significance, because she could kill them in three moves before they stirred in their comfortably padded chairs.

It doesn’t matter that she shouldn’t, that she never would. What matters is that she could, if she wanted. The power to hurt is a kind of wealth.

She speaks quite suddenly, across Daniel, sharp like the knock at a door. “Don’t waste my time with this, Daniel,” she says.

Related Characters: Margot Cleary (speaker), Daniel Dandon
Page Number: 76
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26: Margot Quotes

“You want to employ NorthStar girls yourself.”
“As my private army, here and on the border.”
It’s worth a lot of money. […] The board would be very happy to continue their association with Margot Cleary until the end of time if she could pull this off.
“And, in exchange, you want...”
“We are going to alter our laws a little. During this time of trouble. To prevent more traitors giving away our secrets to the North. We want you to stand by us.”

Related Characters: Margot Cleary (speaker), Tatiana Moskalev (speaker)
Page Number: 249
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 29: Tunde Quotes

Thus, we institute today this law, that each man in the country must have his passport and other official documents stamped with the name of his female guardian. Her written permission will be needed for any journey he undertakes. We know that men have their tricks and we cannot allow them to band together.

Related Characters: Margot Cleary, Tunde Edo, Tatiana Moskalev
Page Number: 272
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 43 Quotes

There is a voice in Margot’s head. It says; You can’t get there from here.
She sees it all in that instant, the shape of the tree of power. Root to tip, branching and re-branching. Of course, the old tree still stands. There is only one way, and that is to blast it entirely to pieces.

Related Characters: Margot Cleary, Jocelyn Cleary, The voice , Darrell Monke, Bernie Monke
Related Symbols: Tree
Page Number: 364
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 47 Quotes

When the historians talk of this moment they talk about “tensions’’ and “global instability.” They posit the “resurgence of old structures” and the “inflexibility of existing belief patterns.” Power has her ways. She acts on people, and people act on her.
When does power exist? Only in the moment it is exercised. To the woman with a skein, everything looks like a fight.
UrbanDox says: Do it.
Margot says: Do it.
Awadi-Atif says: Do it.
Mother Eve says: Do it.
And can you call back the lightning? Or does it return to your hand?

Related Characters: Allie/Eve, Margot Cleary, Neil Adam Armon, UrbanDox, Awadi-Atif
Page Number: 370
Explanation and Analysis: