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Donald Muller
Mrs. Muller is Donald’s mother. When she learns from Sister Aloysius that Father Flynn might be sexually abusing her son, she refuses to do anything about the situation. This is because she thinks doing something to stop Father Flynn will ultimately have a negative impact on Donald’s chances of graduating the eighth grade and getting into a good high school. She also suggests (to Sister Aloysius’s horror) that Father Flynn’s inappropriate attention might not be completely unwanted, since she suspects that Donald is gay. This, it seems, is a large part of why his father beats him, which serves as another reason Mrs. Muller doesn’t want it to get out that Father Flynn might have molested her son, since her husband will likely use this against him. Before leaving Sister Aloysius’s office, Mrs. Muller tells her that certain matters aren’t “black and white,” insisting that Donald will be better off if they simply do nothing—something Sister Aloysius is unwilling to do.
Mrs. Muller Quotes in Doubt: A Parable
The Doubt: A Parable quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Muller or refer to Mrs. Muller. 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:
).
Scene 8
Quotes
Why you need to know something like that for sure when you don’t? Please, Sister. You got some kind a righteous cause going with this priest and now you want to drag my boy into it. My son doesn’t need additional difficulties. Let him take the good and leave the rest when he leaves this place in June. He knows how to do that. I taught him how to do that.
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SISTER ALOYSIUS: But I have my certainty, and armed with that, I will go to your last parish, and the one before that if necessary. I will find a parent, Father Flynn! Trust me I will. A parent who probably doesn’t know that you are still working with children! And once I do that, you will be exposed. You may even be attacked, metaphorically or otherwise.
FLYNN: You have no right to act on your own! You are a member of a religious order. You have taken vows, obedience being one! You answer to us! You have no right to step outside the Church!
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Mrs. Muller Quotes in Doubt: A Parable
The Doubt: A Parable quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Muller or refer to Mrs. Muller. 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:
).
Scene 8
Quotes
Why you need to know something like that for sure when you don’t? Please, Sister. You got some kind a righteous cause going with this priest and now you want to drag my boy into it. My son doesn’t need additional difficulties. Let him take the good and leave the rest when he leaves this place in June. He knows how to do that. I taught him how to do that.
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Explanation and Analysis:
SISTER ALOYSIUS: But I have my certainty, and armed with that, I will go to your last parish, and the one before that if necessary. I will find a parent, Father Flynn! Trust me I will. A parent who probably doesn’t know that you are still working with children! And once I do that, you will be exposed. You may even be attacked, metaphorically or otherwise.
FLYNN: You have no right to act on your own! You are a member of a religious order. You have taken vows, obedience being one! You answer to us! You have no right to step outside the Church!
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