Character Analysis
Mrs. Wintermute is obviously a woman haunted by the death of her four children. After the children die of cholera, she becomes withdrawn and obsessed with remembering them, forcing Clara to go to the mausoleum to visit her siblings all the time, and putting images of the dead children all over the house. She flies into rages when she feels like they're being disrespected and seems to love the dead children more than she loves her living daughter. When Clara laughs during the puppet show, her mother tells her that she'll never forgive her—and the poor girl takes her harsh words to heart:
"My dear, you must stop crying. You behaved badly today, but your mother will forgive you."
"She won't," said Clara. "She told me so. I went to see her after the party—I wanted to say I was sorry—and she said that—that I insulted their memories and that God was punishing her—and the only child He spared her had a—a h-heart of stone." A huge sob rose in her throat, making her shoulders jerk. "She said she didn't think she could ever forgive me. She said that." (6.21-22)
Growing up with such a traumatized and grieving mother is very hard on Clara. She feels like no matter what she does, she'll always be a disappointment to her mother, who wants her other children back so badly. But at the end of the book, Mrs. Wintermute starts to emerge from the fog of her grief when she's finally reunited with Clara—and even takes in two more children, Parsefall and Lizzie Rose. She starts to move on from the death of her four children and to form a new family with these orphaned children.