Guide Mentor

Character Role Analysis

Mama

Drama between moms and daughters happens all the time in real life, and Francie and Mama are no exception. If they had a Facebook status for their relationship, it would definitely be it’s complicated.

Mama likes her Neeley more than she likes Francie, and Francie totally knows it. And Mama knows that Francie knows. Nice.

Francie also admits that she prefers her father. This could be because her mother openly prefers her brother, but it also might just be because Papa's more her kind of guy. It's never made super clear in the book.

Preferences aside, though, Mama and Francie not only have a ton of love for each other, but they also have lots in common. They both are hardworking, driven, and capable women, who find ways to get what they want and stick up for themselves.

Mama has taught her Francie well. She didn’t raise her to be a dainty turn-of-the-century lady with a fancy hat sipping tea. If anything, these two are early feminists. Francie has learned from her justice-seeking, gun-slinging, red-and-cracked-handed Mama how to protect and provide for her family. You think Shmoop is kidding? Francie will stab you with a pin if you even think about pinching her fanny on a crowded train. Mama taught her how.

Their relationship changes a bit as Francie gets older, and it becomes less antagonistic and more equal. Francie confides in Mama when Lee breaks her heart, and Mama response by giving advice not just as her mother but as a fellow woman too. At this point, Mama even asks for Francie’s thoughts about the possibility of having McShane as a stepfather. By the end of the novel, these two have come to a mature, respectful place in their relationship.