Character Analysis
Grandma Hutto is an old family friend of the Baxters who lives in town. She's a good friend, too: when Penny went to war, he brought Ora and little two-year-old Jody to stay with her for the four years he was gone.
But this little sojourn didn't exactly make her BFFs with Ora. Grandma may be old (at least, we assume she is, what with being called "Grandma"), but she's still super-feminine and perky: "Something about her was forever female and made all men virile. Her gift infuriated all women" (11.170). Jody and Penny adore her; we're getting a little irritated just thinking about her.
She's not one to hide what she thinks, whether it's disapproving of what Ora's wearing or explaining why she thinks heaven'll be boring. And she's quick on her feet, too—she realizes immediately that she needs to keep her son Oliver from knowing the Forresters burned her house down, so she makes up a story: "You think I aim to have two counties strowed with Forrester blood and my boy's bones, for a burnt-up house?" (26.408). This little incident tells us that Grandma Hutto is a practical woman who has the good of the community at heart.
No wonder Penny and Jody are crushed when she moves to Boston. (Ora, however, is thrilled.)