The Wednesday Wars

by

Gary Schmidt

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Wednesday Wars makes teaching easy.
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:
Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
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.

Related Characters: Holling Hoodhood (speaker), Holling's Dad, Holling's Mother
Page Number: 7
Explanation and Analysis:
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.

Related Characters: Holling Hoodhood (speaker), Danny Hupfer, Holling's Dad, Holling's Mother, Mr. Hupfer
Page Number: 85
Explanation and Analysis:
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.

Related Characters: Holling Hoodhood (speaker), Holling's Dad, Heather Hoodhood (Holling's Sister), Holling's Mother
Related Symbols: The Perfect House
Page Number: 131
Explanation and Analysis:
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?

Related Characters: Holling Hoodhood (speaker), Holling's Dad, Heather Hoodhood (Holling's Sister), Holling's Mother
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis:
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?"

Related Characters: Holling Hoodhood (speaker), Holling's Dad (speaker), Danny Hupfer, Heather Hoodhood (Holling's Sister), Holling's Mother
Page Number: 253
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Wednesday Wars LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Wednesday Wars PDF

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:
Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
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.

Related Characters: Holling Hoodhood (speaker), Holling's Dad, Holling's Mother
Page Number: 7
Explanation and Analysis:
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.

Related Characters: Holling Hoodhood (speaker), Danny Hupfer, Holling's Dad, Holling's Mother, Mr. Hupfer
Page Number: 85
Explanation and Analysis:
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.

Related Characters: Holling Hoodhood (speaker), Holling's Dad, Heather Hoodhood (Holling's Sister), Holling's Mother
Related Symbols: The Perfect House
Page Number: 131
Explanation and Analysis:
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?

Related Characters: Holling Hoodhood (speaker), Holling's Dad, Heather Hoodhood (Holling's Sister), Holling's Mother
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis:
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?"

Related Characters: Holling Hoodhood (speaker), Holling's Dad (speaker), Danny Hupfer, Heather Hoodhood (Holling's Sister), Holling's Mother
Page Number: 253
Explanation and Analysis: