Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

by

Jeanette Winterson

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Why Be Happy? makes teaching easy.

Mr. Jack Winterson Character Analysis

Jeanette Winterson’s adoptive father. A manual laborer all his life, he was the one responsible for doling out the physical punishments Mrs. Winterson assigned to Jeanette for her many “transgressions.” Though he was complicit in abusing Jeanette, Mr. Winterson too lived under the imposing shadow of his first wife, Mrs. Winterson, until her death. He later remarries a woman named Lillian, at whom he frequently gets angry and throws household objects, such as Mrs. Winterson’s Royal Albert china. After Mr. Winterson’s death, Jeanette, when cleaning out his house, finds documents relating to her adoption, which she uses to embark on a search for her birth parents.

Mr. Jack Winterson Quotes in Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

The Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Jack Winterson or refer to Mr. Jack Winterson. 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:
Storytelling Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

When love is unreliable and you are a child, you assume that it is the nature of love—its quality—to be unreliable. Children do not find fault with their parents until later. In the beginning the love you get is the love that sets.

Related Characters: Jeanette Winterson (speaker), Mrs. Constance Winterson, Mr. Jack Winterson
Page Number: 76
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Why Be Happy? LitChart as a printable PDF.
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? PDF

Mr. Jack Winterson Quotes in Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

The Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Jack Winterson or refer to Mr. Jack Winterson. 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:
Storytelling Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

When love is unreliable and you are a child, you assume that it is the nature of love—its quality—to be unreliable. Children do not find fault with their parents until later. In the beginning the love you get is the love that sets.

Related Characters: Jeanette Winterson (speaker), Mrs. Constance Winterson, Mr. Jack Winterson
Page Number: 76
Explanation and Analysis: