Will’s Mom Character Analysis in Five Feet Apart

Will’s mom is wealthy, and she uses her money to send Will to various experimental drug trials for B. cepacia around the world. Will has spent the last eight months traveling from hospital to hospital, and he has come to resent this lifestyle. He wants to experience life rather than spend all his time in hospitals, and he thinks that his mom is selfish and careless towards him. Will thinks that his mom doesn’t pay attention to what Will wants, or even who he is, but on his 18th birthday Will’s mom shocks him by giving him an original copy of one of his favorite cartoons—it’s a very personal gift that only someone who paid close attention to him would get. Will realizes that his mom simply wants Will to stay alive so she can spend more time with him, and this understanding helps motivate Will to take his treatment more seriously.

Will’s Mom Quotes in Five Feet Apart

The Five Feet Apart quotes below are all either spoken by Will’s Mom or refer to Will’s 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:

There are a lot of things that piss me off about CF, but that’s not one of them. Pretty much all guys with CF are infertile, which at least means I don’t have to worry about getting anyone pregnant and starting my own shit show of a family.

Related Characters: Will Newman (speaker), Stella Grant, Will’s Mom

Page Number and Citation: 26

Explanation and Analysis:

The only thing I remember from most of my hospital stays is white. White hospital sheets, white walls, white lab coats, all running together. But I do remember the mountains and mountains of snow that fell while I was there, the same white, only beautiful, less sterile.

Related Characters: Will Newman (speaker), Will’s Mom, Dr. Hamid

Page Number and Citation: 53

Explanation and Analysis:

For me, it was easy to give up. It was easy to fight my treatments and focus on the time I do have. Stop working so damn hard for just a few seconds more. But Stella and Poe are making me want every second more that I can get.

Related Characters: Will Newman (speaker), Stella Grant, Poe, Will’s Mom

Page Number and Citation: 132

Explanation and Analysis:

Without me, my mom is all alone. All this time I thought she only saw my disease. A problem you fix. But, instead, she was looking right at me, trying to get me to fight alongside her, when all I did was fight her tooth and nail.

Related Characters: Will Newman (speaker), Stella Grant, Poe, Will’s Mom

Page Number and Citation: 198

Explanation and Analysis:

Will’s Mom Character Timeline in Five Feet Apart

The timeline below shows where the character Will’s Mom appears in Five Feet Apart. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Survival, Terminal Illness, and Hope Theme Icon

Will’s mom comes to see Will with Dr. Hamid. As his mom talks, Will daydreams about the... (full context)

When Dr. Hamid leaves, Will’s mom criticizes him for his bad attitude and explains that it was difficult to get him... (full context)

...recalls when he first contracted the bacteria. He was coughing a lot one morning, and his mom rushed him to the hospital. Will’s mom has always been overly cautious about his health... (full context)

...enough money to make the trip. Will feels guilty for being annoyed by his overbearing mother and wanting time to speed up (when he turns 18, Will can make his own... (full context)

...of the pool cue the whole time. Will tells Stella that since his dad left, his mom seems to try to care about Will enough for two parents. He feels like she... (full context)

Will’s mom visits for his 18th birthday. He watches as she argues with Dr. Hamid about the... (full context)

Will spends the rest of the day feeling guilty. He realizes that his mom just wants to have more time with him and that he’s the one who’s been... (full context)

...would like to live in the future. Will checks his phone and suddenly sees that his mom is texting him frantically about Stella’s transplant. He jumps up, shocked, but Stella doesn’t react.... (full context)

...he recovers from the frozen pond and giving CPR, Will lies on a gurney with his mom by his side. As Stella is rolled out of the room, Will calls after Dr.... (full context)

...Barb comes to Will’s room to tell him that Stella tested negative for B. cepacia. Will’s mom asks about Will’s tests, and Barb says that the drug trial isn’t working. (full context)