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Sycorax and Caliban
Holling's mother is a quiet, timid woman who seems afraid of her husband, Holling's dad. She chain-smokes in secret, though both Holling and Heather are aware of her habit. She shows her love through food, and when Heather runs away, Holling's mother finally begins to take a stand against her husband by not cooking lima beans. However, this is as far as her rebellion goes. She refuses to drive Holling to New York to pick up Heather, though she does give him money for food and train tickets to bring Heather back home.
Holling's Mother Quotes in The Wednesday Wars
The The Wednesday Wars quotes below are all either spoken by Holling's Mother or refer to Holling's Mother. 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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September Quotes
How do parents get to where they can say things like this? There must be some gene that switches on at the birth of the firstborn child, and suddenly stuff like that starts to come out of their mouths.
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Holling has just told his parents that his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him, but he's disappointed to discover that his parents don't even believe him. By attributing their disbelief to a "parent gene," Holling discredits his parents’ perspective entirely and avoids acknowledging that they are probably right. Holling’s thought process is a product of his youth, immaturity, and self-centeredness. It hasn't occurred to him yet that other people have valid opinions, and that his beliefs aren't the only ones that matter. However, by attributing his parents’ dismissive behavior to “some gene that switches on,” he points to the way that 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 suscipi
December Quotes
I guess it didn't matter to them that the Bing Crosby Christmas Special was on television tonight, the way it mattered to my parents, who would never, ever miss it. I guess the Hupfers thought that a Shakespeare debut was a whole lot more important than hearing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" one more time—even though Mr. Hupfer was loosening his tie and holding his hand over a yawn.
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At Holling's debut as Ariel in holiday production of The Tempest, he's shocked to see his classmates' parents in the audience. His surprise that his classmates’ parents aren’t at home watching television implies that Holling's home life is far more dysfunctional than he'd previously let on—it's no surprise to him that his parents didn't come to see him perform. This begins to show Holling that not all parents are dysfunctional and detached; some of them are actively supportive of their own children and of other children in the community. Though it never occurs to Holling, it's also likely that Danny's 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
February Quotes
[…] right then a whole series of low chords sounded from the piano in the Perfect Living Room below us, followed by a roar and crash as the entire newly plastered ceiling fell, smashing down on top of the baby grand piano, ripping the plastic seat cushions, flattening the fake tropical flowers, tearing the gleaming mirror from the wall, and spreading its glittering shards onto the floor, where they mixed with the dank, wet plaster that immediately began to settle into the carpet to stain it forever.
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When the ceiling of the Perfect Living Room collapses, it symbolizes Hoodhood family’s own impending collapse and destruction. Holling's dad has curated his home and his family to look a certain way for the sake of his own reputation and that of the family business. However, in doing so, he's unable or unwilling to acknowledge that there's structural damage in both his house and his family. His wife and son both appear to be scared of him, and his daughter seems to despise him. Ultimately, Holling's dad's neglect of his family will have disastrous consequences, as the collapsed ceiling foreshadows Dolorem et quae. Exercit
May Quotes
For supper, my mother set only three places. She did not cook lima beans. She did not say anything while my father swore up and down […] Didn't she realize that this didn't help his business reputation or his chances for the Chamber of Commerce Businessman of 1968, which that creep Kowalski was trying to steal from him?
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After Heather runs away to California to “find herself,” Holling's parents deal with their anger and grief in different ways. As seen in this passage, Holling's mother shows her displeasure with her husband by not cooking lima beans anymore. This act is subtle, which aligns with her quiet, timid nature. Holling's dad, on the other hand, is only concerned with how Heather’s actions reflect on him—he does not seem concerned for his daughter's safety after all. In this way, the novel suggests that even Holling's dad has some growing up to do, as recognizing that others have internal lives separate Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sun
June Quotes
"You think that's how you become a man, by chanting a few prayers?"
"You think you become a man by getting a job as an architect?"
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After Danny Hupfer's bar mitzvah, Holling and his dad argue about how a boy becomes a man and enters adulthood. Holling's father considers having a job and supporting a family to be indicative of manhood, while Holling thinks that a symbolic and religious coming of age, such as a bar mitzvah, is an appropriate way to enter into adulthood. This provides some evidence as to why Holling's dad is arrogant and obsessed with his job: he sees his family and his job as evidence that he's a contributing, adult member of society who is dutifully providing for his family. This 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 delec
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Holling's Mother Character Timeline in The Wednesday Wars
The timeline below shows where the character Holling's Mother appears in The Wednesday Wars. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
September
...school year, and Holling feels as though he's going to throw up the omelet his mother made him for breakfast.
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Holling finds his mother in the kitchen and informs her that Mrs. Baker hates him. She assures him that...
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October
Holling's dad asks Holling's mother to tell Heather that she has a flower painted on her cheek. Heather assures her...
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November
...skies and rain. Holling and his dad prep the Perfect House for winter, and Holling's mother discovers a leak in the ceiling of the Perfect Living Room. When Holling's dad touches...
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...week of practicing, Holling feels he's perfected several curses. On Tuesday night, Holling's dad and mother knock on the door, but both leave when he say he's practicing a speech for...
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December
...insists that the part is an honor. Finally, Holling shows his yellow tights to his mother. She insists the feathers will be cute, and nobody from Camillo Junior High will be...
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January
...the tights are yellow with white feathers on the butt. Holling is mortified, but his mother insists nobody will see it.
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When Holling returns to school, he discovers his mother was wrong: Doug Swieteck's brother saw it and, apparently, experienced a "flash of inspiration and...
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That night, the power outage continues. Holling's mother chain-smokes out a window; his dad furiously sits at the phone fielding calls from people...
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...proclaims him fine but bruised. Mrs. Baker drives Holling to the Perfect House, where Holling's mother thanks her for bringing him home. Holling finds the late edition of the Home Town...
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April
...Saint Adelbert's, Mrs. Baker suggests that she could take Holling to the game, assuming his mother is okay with it. Holling ends up asking his sister, who doesn't care, so he...
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...place in a crazy world right now, and she'll stay home and be safe. Holling's mother says nothing.
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May
...thinks he bought it to comfort himself. Every night after the news, he takes Holling's mother for a drive, and leaves it parked in the driveway so Chit can't park his...
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The Perfect House becomes quiet, and Holling's dad stops watering the azaleas. His mother stops cooking lima beans, and they all stop talking. Holling describes the silence as being...
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...call from his Heather saying she's on her way. He tells his dad and his mother at breakfast on Saturday morning that his sister will arrive in New York City at...
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Holling grabs the keys to the Mustang and tries to convince his mother to drive them. When she refuses, he goes and sits in the car for a...
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...and refused to get back in. Later, when they take the train back home, their mother makes burnt grilled cheese sandwiches. Holling's dad asks Heather if she found herself, and Holling...
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June
...he'll let them know when he finds out. His dad slams the car door, his mother blows him a kiss, and Heather smiles.
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