Mrs. Alice Boland Character Analysis in I’m the King of the Castle

Alice Boland is the housekeeper and caretaker of Warings, and the only person who lives at Warings from the very beginning of the novel to the very end (Edmund Hooper and Joseph Hooper only move there after Edmund’s grandfather’s death). Even so, Boland is a minor character in the book. The fact that Joseph hires another maid for Warings when he already has a perfectly suitable one suggests that Joseph isn’t interested in a maid—rather, he is looking for a wife.

Mrs. Alice Boland Character Timeline in I’m the King of the Castle

The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Alice Boland appears in I’m the King of the Castle. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...trees. He climbs down the staircase, confident that he won’t run into his father or Mrs. Boland , their housekeeper. He finds the drawer he noticed earlier and opens it. Inside, he... (full context)

Fear and Psychological Manipulation Theme Icon

...touch it. He decides that he’ll have to leave it there, night after night, until Mrs. Boland removes it. But that night, when he returns to his room, the crow is gone. (full context)

Back at the house, Helena tells Charles that she’s going to the hospital and that Mrs. Boland will be taking care of him. She hugs Charles and says, “Promise me you will... (full context)

Night falls, and Helena and Joseph still haven’t come back from the hospital. Charles and Alice Boland watch television together. The film playing on television shows a blind man walking down the... (full context)

Alice Boland tells Charles that it’s time to go to bed. She notices that Charles’s face is... (full context)

A few days later, Helena tells Charles that she’ll be going back to the hospital. Mrs. Boland will take care of Charles again. Charles works on a jigsaw puzzle and acknowledges his... (full context)

Charles spends most of the week alone, making a model of a fort. Mrs. Boland brings him drinks and meals, and in general “it was all right.” (full context)

...to be.” Fielding offers to let Charles ride his bike back to Warings to ask Mrs. Boland if he, Charles, can stay for dinner at the Fieldings’ house. Charles rides back to... (full context)