Gwen “Mum” Black Character Analysis

Gwen Black is Blacky’s mother. She labors constantly to care for Blacky and his seven siblings without the help of her absent, alcoholic husband. Whenever she appears in the novel, she is usually doing a domestic task, like washing clothes or cooking dinner. Her two escapes at the end of a long day of chores are baths and romance novels. Though she was once young and beautiful, her teeth have all rotted and been pulled out, which Blacky thinks is because she was pregnant so many times. Despite the burdens upon her, she is loving and affectionate toward Blacky and wants all of her children to be educated and speak properly. Her constant work and physical deterioration represent the extreme side of Blacky’s fear of responsibility. She serves as a contrast to Blacky’s father, whom Blacky resents for never taking any responsibility for the family.