Previous
Jumpin’
Mabel is Jumpin’s wife, and Kya’s only female role model. When Kya tries to sell a bucket of disgusting smoked fish to Jumpin’, Mabel tells Jumpin’ to claim that somebody in their community wanted to trade the fish for clothing and other supplies. This, of course, isn’t true, but Mabel wants to help Kya because she feels sorry for her, knowing that the child has nobody to support her. In keeping with this, Mabel assembles a number of donations from her church and gives them to Kya. Later, when Kya is going through adolescence, Mabel brings her a bra and tells her that she can come talk if she ever has any questions. Shortly thereafter, Kya has her first period, and when she tells Mabel, Mabel gives her a long, emotional hug, telling her that she has become a woman. For the rest of her life, Mabel continues to provide Kya with emotional support, eventually telling her after Jumpin’ dies that he saw Kya as his own daughter.
Mabel Quotes in Where the Crawdads Sing
The Where the Crawdads Sing quotes below are all either spoken by Mabel or refer to Mabel. 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:
).
Chapter 12 Quotes
“Lawd, we gotta do something 'bout that child. Ain’t nobody gonna buy them fish; I can cook ’em up in stew. Our church can come up wif some clothes, other things for her. We’ll tell ’er there’s some family that’ll trade jumpers for carpies. What size is she?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Where the Crawdads Sing LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Mabel Character Timeline in Where the Crawdads Sing
The timeline below shows where the character Mabel appears in Where the Crawdads Sing. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 12. Pennies and Grits: 1956
...Town,” a black village near Barkley Cove. When he shows the fish to his wife, Mabel, she says they look like something a dog would bring home, but he explains that...
(full context)
The next morning, Mabel goes to work with Jumpin’ and introduces herself to Kya, telling her that they know...
(full context)
Chapter 16. Reading: 1960
...to read, and she gets tired of waiting for him. Consequently, Kya decides to visit Mabel to give her some jam, though the real reason she wants to see Mabel is...
(full context)
Chapter 17. Crossing the Threshold: 1960
While Kya’s filling up at Jumpin’s one morning, Mabel tells her to come into the bait shop, where she gives her a beautiful outfit....
(full context)
Shortly after talking to Mabel, Kya’s sitting on the beach waiting for Tate when her stomach suddenly cramps in a...
(full context)
...him from land. The next morning, she goes to Jumpin’s and asks to speak to Mabel. When Mabel arrives, Kya shyly tells her that she had her first period, and Mabel...
(full context)
Chapter 31. A Book: 1968
...she will. Later, Kya goes to Jumpin’s and gives him the book, thanking him and Mabel for all of their help over the years. Filled with emotion, Jumpin’ wants to hug...
(full context)
Chapter 45. Red Cap: 1970
...next day of Kya’s trial, there is a disruption in the courthouse when Jumpin’ and Mabel walk into the “white area” of the seating and sit next to Tate, directly behind...
(full context)
Chapter 50. The Journal: 1970
...moment of hope and private joy upon seeing Jodie, who is sitting next to Tate, Mabel, and Jumpin’. At the same time, though, Kya feels ashamed that he now knows she’s...
(full context)
Chapter 57. The Firefly
...feels, is an entirely new kind of grief. After the funeral—which she doesn’t attend—she visits Mabel and gives her a jar of blackberry jam. Mabel tells her that Jumpin’ loved her...
(full context)
