Mrs. Patimkin Character Analysis in Goodbye, Columbus

Mrs. Patimkin is Brenda, Ron, and Julie’s mother, and Mr. Patimkin’s wife. She is beautiful and very polite. Brenda believes that Mrs. Patimkin hates Brenda because she is jealous of Brenda’s youth and athletic ability, but Roth demonstrates that Mrs. Patimkin also resents her daughter because their family’s wealth has enabled Brenda to be lazy. Mrs. Patimkin is also more religious than the rest of her family: she is orthodox, she keeps a kosher kitchen, and she belongs to a Jewish service organization. Thus, while the Patimkins are outwardly very assimilated in appearance, they also privately maintain their religious practices. At the end of the novella, Mrs. Patimkin discovers Brenda’s diaphragm in her dresser drawer. Mrs. Patimkin is scandalized by the idea that Brenda and Neil had been sleeping together over the summer and writes a distraught letter to Brenda. This forces Brenda to break up with Neil, believing that this is the only way that her family will accept her again.

Mrs. Patimkin Quotes in Goodbye, Columbus

The Goodbye, Columbus quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Patimkin or refer to Mrs. Patimkin. 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:

Relationships, Competition, and Power Theme Icon

Money! My father’s up to here with it, but whenever I buy a coat you should hear her. “You don’t have to go to Bonwit’s, young lady, Ohrbach’s has the strongest fabrics of any of them.” Who wants a strong fabric! Finally I get what I want, but not till she’s had a chance to aggravate me. Money is a waste for her. She doesn’t even know how to enjoy it. She still thinks we live in Newark.

Related Characters: Brenda Patimkin (speaker), Neil Klugman, Mr. Patimkin, Mrs. Patimkin

Page Number and Citation: 26

Explanation and Analysis:

When the puny sixty-watt bulb was twisted on, I saw that the place was full of old furniture—two wing chairs with hair oil lines at the back, a sofa with a paunch in its middle, a bridge table, two bridge chairs with their stuffing showing, a mirror whose backing had peeled off, shadeless lamps, lampless shades, a coffee table with a cracked glass top, and a pile of rolled up shades.
“What is this?” I said.
“A storeroom. Our old furniture.”
“How old?”
“From Newark,” she said.

Related Characters: Neil Klugman (speaker), Brenda Patimkin (speaker), Mrs. Patimkin

Page Number and Citation: 67

Explanation and Analysis:

Here you need a little of the gonif in you. You know what that means? Gonif?”
“Thief,” I said.
“You know more than my own kids. They’re goyim, my kids, that’s how much they understand.”

Related Characters: Mr. Patimkin (speaker), Neil Klugman, Brenda Patimkin, Mrs. Patimkin, Ron Patimkin, Harriet Ehrlich

Page Number and Citation: 94

Explanation and Analysis:

Mrs. Patimkin Character Timeline in Goodbye, Columbus

The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Patimkin appears in Goodbye, Columbus. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

That night, Neil eats with Brenda, Ron, Mr. and Mrs. Patimkin , and Brenda’s 10-year-old sister Julie. Neil thinks Julie is very bright, that Mr. Patimkin... (full context)

...a cacophony. Ron jumps up to answer it, as it is his girlfriend Harriet calling. Mrs. Patimkin instructs Carlota not to mix the milk silverware and the meat silverware, and Brenda is... (full context)

...Brenda discuss Brenda’s family. Neil says he likes Julie, and Brenda agrees. Brenda also says Mrs. Patimkin hates her, because she’s jealous of Brenda’s youth and athleticism. Brenda’s mom was once the... (full context)

...play his hardest to catch up to Julie. As the game goes on, he notices Mrs. Patimkin and Carlota watching. When he misses a shot, he jokingly asks to take it again,... (full context)

...likes her in a dress, but he doesn’t answer, and she departs with Mr. and Mrs. Patimkin and Ron. (full context)

...different rooms of the house. He notes pictures of Brenda, her siblings, and a young Mrs. Patimkin . Neil avoids the bedrooms and instead goes down to the basement. He finds bamboo... (full context)

Mr. and Mrs. Patimkin continue to treat Neil kindly, and when Brenda suggests to her father that at the... (full context)

...morning. Though Brenda worries he might get caught, she agrees. Brenda says that she thinks Mrs. Patimkin is nervous about Neil’s being there. Neil wonders whether he should really stay a week,... (full context)

...that he’s welcome to borrow his phonograph to listen to music. Downstairs, Neil can hear Mrs. Patimkin and Brenda arguing about having too much company. Brenda says it’s not extra work for... (full context)

...bursts into the guest room, Neil asks if he should go. Brenda assures him that Mrs. Patimkin wasn’t really upset about him. Brenda then opens another door in the room, which leads... (full context)

...“all surfaces,” and is thus perfect for Ron and the Patimkins. He also sees that Mrs. Patimkin likes Harriet a lot more than she likes Brenda. All evening, the Patimkins plan where... (full context)

Neil spends the day trying to avoid Carlota and Mrs. Patimkin , but Mrs. Patimkin sits opposite him in their TV room, checking names off a... (full context)

Mrs. Patimkin asks if Neil is interested in B’nai Brith, another Jewish service organization, explaining that Ron... (full context)

Just then, the phone rings. Mrs. Patimkin gets a message from Mr. Patimkin and says that she is too busy. She asks... (full context)

Brenda then reveals that Mr. and Mrs. Patimkin found out about her and Neil sleeping together over the summer, because her mother found... (full context)

Self-Delusion and Fantasy vs. Self-Examination and Reality Theme Icon

Neil again returns to accusing Brenda of leaving the diaphragm for Mrs. Patimkin to find, implying that Brenda wanted to ruin their relationship. She says that he’s the... (full context)