God Help the Child

by

Toni Morrison

Queen Character Analysis

Queen is Booker’s aunt. She is the only one who takes his grief seriously after Adam’s murder. She is a woman with fire-red hair who has had many husbands. Queen lives in Whiskey, California, where Booker goes to live after leaving Bride. While the novel portrays Queen as gracious and benevolent, she also has her own demons. In particular, when Queen’s daughter Hannah was a child, she told Queen that her father was molesting her. Queen sided with Hannah’s father—something Queen now regrets—and her choice damaged her relationship with Hannah beyond repair.

Queen Quotes in God Help the Child

The God Help the Child quotes below are all either spoken by Queen or refer to Queen. 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:
Inherited Trauma Theme Icon
).
Part 4, Chapter 2 Quotes

“I’m not sure I should, now.” Bride shook her head. She had counted on her looks for so long—how well her beauty worked. She had not known its shallowness or her own cowardice—the vital lesson Sweetness taught and nailed to her spine to curve it.

Related Characters: Lula Ann “Bride” Bridewell, Booker Starbern, Sweetness, Queen
Page Number: 151
Explanation and Analysis:

They will blow it, she thought. Each will cling to a sad little story of hurt and sorrow—some long-ago trouble and pain life dumped on their pure and innocent selves. And each one will rewrite the story forever, knowing the plot, guessing the theme, inventing its meaning and dismissing its origin. What waste.

Related Characters: Lula Ann “Bride” Bridewell, Booker Starbern, Queen
Page Number: 158
Explanation and Analysis:
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Queen Quotes in God Help the Child

The God Help the Child quotes below are all either spoken by Queen or refer to Queen. 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:
Inherited Trauma Theme Icon
).
Part 4, Chapter 2 Quotes

“I’m not sure I should, now.” Bride shook her head. She had counted on her looks for so long—how well her beauty worked. She had not known its shallowness or her own cowardice—the vital lesson Sweetness taught and nailed to her spine to curve it.

Related Characters: Lula Ann “Bride” Bridewell, Booker Starbern, Sweetness, Queen
Page Number: 151
Explanation and Analysis:

They will blow it, she thought. Each will cling to a sad little story of hurt and sorrow—some long-ago trouble and pain life dumped on their pure and innocent selves. And each one will rewrite the story forever, knowing the plot, guessing the theme, inventing its meaning and dismissing its origin. What waste.

Related Characters: Lula Ann “Bride” Bridewell, Booker Starbern, Queen
Page Number: 158
Explanation and Analysis: