Character Analysis
As was common for middle-class women in 1896, Mamma's job is to care for her home and family. As the long-suffering mother of three rambunctious boys and wife to a man who has a practical career but is taken in by every new invention he sees, Mamma is the voice of calm and reason in the Fitzgerald home. She's also the voice that tells Tom and J.D. when she's had enough:
I knew she was angry about something when she called me by my full name. She never called us boys by our full names unless she was angry with us. (1.140)
Isn't that always how it goes? Whenever a mom busts out a full name, you know you're in some deep doo. Full names are just one part of Mamma's system for keeping order, which involves everything from getting all the boys sick with the same childhood illness at once to how much ice cream the boys are allowed to lick off the dasher.
She isn't all business, all the time, though. Mamma's also extremely compassionate, always visiting her sick neighbors. When Abie Glassman is discovered near death, she does not hesitate to help:
Mamma told him to put Abie in her bedroom. She ordered Aunt Bertha to prepare some hot broth immediately. Then she sat on the edge of the bed wiping Abie's face with a wet cloth. (6.51)
Too bad he dies in her arms a moment later. If you have to go, though, we're thinking Mamma's arms are a good place to be.
In short, J.D. views his mother in an ideal way—he's the narrator, so we see her through his eyes. And from where's he's sitting, she's clearly the best Mamma in town.