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Grandma
Margaret’s mom is a stay-at-home parent who paints still life paintings as a hobby. She’s a practical, no-nonsense woman who enjoys gardening and has trouble making choices about her new house in the suburbs—she hasn’t ordered living room furniture yet by the end of the novel, as she’s still deciding what she wants. Mom is a major influence in Margaret’s life. She regularly tells Margaret what’s normal and what to expect in terms of puberty, and she never makes Margaret feel bad or awkward for things like wanting to wear a bra or use deodorant. Mom was raised Christian, but when she decided to marry Dad (who was raised Jewish) 14 years ago, her parents disowned her rather than accept their Jewish son-in-law. So Mom and Dad have very purposefully given up religion in their own lives, and they’ve raised Margaret with the expectation that she can choose a religion when she’s an adult. Mom attempts to reconnect with her parents by sending them a holiday card, but it doesn’t go as planned: Grandmother and Grandfather invite themselves for a visit, insult Mom and Dad’s parenting and Margaret’s lack of a religious upbringing, and ultimately leave early, thereby angering Mom.
Mom Quotes in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
The Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. quotes below are all either spoken by Mom or refer to Mom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
My parents don’t know I actually talk to God. I mean, if I told them they’d think I was some kind of religious fanatic or something. So I keep it very private. I can talk to him without moving my lips if I have to. My mother says God is a nice idea. He belongs to everybody.
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Chapter 5
Quotes
“But if you aren’t any religion, how are you going to know if you should join the Y or the Jewish Community Center?” Janie asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I never thought about it. Maybe we won’t join either one.”
“But everybody belongs to one or the other,” Nancy said.
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Chapter 6
Quotes
She got me out of the first bra and into the next one. I wondered how I’d ever learn to do it by myself. Maybe my mother would have to dress me every day.
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Chapter 15
Quotes
The film told us about the ovaries and explained why girls menstroo-ate. But it didn’t tell us how it feels, except to say that it is not painful, which we knew anyway. Also, it didn’t really show a girl getting it. It just said how wonderful nature was and how we would soon become women and all that.
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Chapter 21
Quotes
“Who needs religion? Who! Not me…I don’t need it. I don’t even need God!” I ran out of the den and up to my room.
[…]
I was never going to talk to God again. What did he want from me anyway? I was through with him and his religions! And I was never going to set foot in the Y or the Jewish Community Center—never.
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Get the entire Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mom Quotes in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
The Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. quotes below are all either spoken by Mom or refer to Mom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
My parents don’t know I actually talk to God. I mean, if I told them they’d think I was some kind of religious fanatic or something. So I keep it very private. I can talk to him without moving my lips if I have to. My mother says God is a nice idea. He belongs to everybody.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5
Quotes
“But if you aren’t any religion, how are you going to know if you should join the Y or the Jewish Community Center?” Janie asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I never thought about it. Maybe we won’t join either one.”
“But everybody belongs to one or the other,” Nancy said.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
She got me out of the first bra and into the next one. I wondered how I’d ever learn to do it by myself. Maybe my mother would have to dress me every day.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15
Quotes
The film told us about the ovaries and explained why girls menstroo-ate. But it didn’t tell us how it feels, except to say that it is not painful, which we knew anyway. Also, it didn’t really show a girl getting it. It just said how wonderful nature was and how we would soon become women and all that.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21
Quotes
“Who needs religion? Who! Not me…I don’t need it. I don’t even need God!” I ran out of the den and up to my room.
[…]
I was never going to talk to God again. What did he want from me anyway? I was through with him and his religions! And I was never going to set foot in the Y or the Jewish Community Center—never.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
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