Character Analysis
Poor Mrs. Grimes. To be honest, that's pretty much all you can say about her. We never even learn her name. In a way, it's fitting—she was never allowed to develop her own identity; to think about her wants, needs, and dreams; or even to make friends. Who knows what kind of person she could have become if only she had been allowed to reach her full potential.
Humble Beginnings
Being born an orphan doesn't help things. In Mrs. Grimes' youth, orphans were forced to become "bound children," which is another word for "slaves" (1.14). Even the law treats her like a piece of property. The German farmer takes this to heart, making repeated, aggressive sexual advances towards her and attacking her when she resists. If this young girl didn't already realize that the world is a harsh place, she surely knows now.
Unfortunately, it's impossible for her to escape because she has no family or friends to come to her aid. The farmer's wife might have helped her out, but she too treats the young Mrs. Grimes as less than human, taking her anger at her husband "out on the girl when the man wasn't around" (1.9). She finally gets rescued by Jake, but, as usual, things don't play out in her favor.
Sinking in Grimes
Life in the Grimes household isn't much different than life on the German's farm. Mrs. Grimes' life still revolves around serving others at the expense of her own well-being—life is still just a "scheme [...] about getting things fed" (2.6). Things could have been different; after all, she had a daughter who died quite young. Would having a daughter in her life have made her feel better? Or would it only make her feel worse knowing that her daughter would likely face a similar fate?
Again, we can't help but wonder why no one helps her out. But we already know how the townsfolk act when they see her: they simply "drive right down the road and never notice" her struggles (1.3). Sure, the butcher is pretty nice to her, but their interaction only highlights another problem: that the townsfolk look right through and only see Jake. Although the butcher seems to feel a bit of sympathy towards her, he's mostly just "annoyed" by her presence and angry at "her husband and her son" (2.13). Even he doesn't see her as a real human being—that is, until she finally dies.
Life After Death
The world has a completely different relationship with Mrs. Grimes after her death. Suddenly she's not an old woman anymore—she's a "beautiful young girl" (4.9). Suddenly, all of the men of the town (many of whom likely drove right past her earlier in the day) look at her with concern. The big question, of course, is why? During her life, Mrs. Grimes was treated as a resource meant to be used up, like the chickens that she fears will be slaughtered, leaving her without any eggs to sell. To these men, Mrs. Grimes is finally in the state she was always meant to be in.
Mrs. Grimes was never allowed to have a unique identity, even in death. For the men of the small town, she was nothing more than a symbol of Jake's criminality. For her family, she was nothing more than a servant. But, although much of the narrator's story is conjecture and imagination, he at least tries to figure out who she is underneath it all. Every old woman has a unique story to tell—the only problem is that most of us would probably rather not hear it.
Mrs. Grimes' Timeline