Character Analysis
Pearl's mom is a substitute teacher with a compulsive need to do something every single minute of every day. The way Pearl tells it, "My mother is an impulsive overdoer who gets her feelings hurt a lot" (6.8). Gee, we wonder where Pearl gets her impulsiveness from? Wink wink. Still, though, poor Sharon. It can't be easy being ditched by your husband and left high and dry financially to start life over for yourself and your kid. But Sharon keeps on chugging.
Perhaps it's because Sharon's so focused on trying to get her life back together that she is generally so oblivious to what her kid is up to. She doesn't seem to realize that Pearl is roaming around the woods with Amiel for months, or that her daughter is becoming a compulsive liar. This is all key to the plot—if Sharon were around all the time and had less to think about when she was, Pearl might not have gotten away with all that she does.