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Nono
Mama’s sister, Makhulu’s daughter, and Mandisa’s aunt. Auntie Funiwe comes to visit Mandisa in Gungululu and is the first to realize her niece is pregnant—Mandisa herself doesn’t even realize it yet. Like Makhulu, Auntie Funiwe is empathetic and supportive of Mandisa, and urges Mama to treat her daughter with kindness and support.
Auntie Funiwe Quotes in Mother to Mother
The Mother to Mother quotes below are all either spoken by Auntie Funiwe or refer to Auntie Funiwe. 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:
).
Chapter 7
Quotes
Then, the flood came. A torrent of tears gushing unchecked down her cheeks. Then followed the wailing. Mama keened as though announcing the death of a beloved, honoured relative.
“What will the church people say?” Mama wailed. “What are they to think of me?” The shame to the family would surely kill her, she said.
Auntie Funiwe reminded her that this was a sad accident and that the family had nothing to be ashamed of. “This child has not disgraced the name of the family.”
“Oh, you don’t know anything,” Mama continued her wailing. “My enemies are going to rejoice. They’re going to laugh at me now.”
“What do you care for such small-minded, mean people?” Auntie asked. “Let them laugh, their turn’ll come,” she said. “Ours now is to look after this child,” she nodded my way. “We must support and protect her now. How do you think she must be feeling?”
Feeling? I was numb, beyond feeling. Mama’s coming, her reaction, had drained the last ounce of feeling from me. Fear. Shame. Anger. All these and more mingled together to form one strong thinning liquid that replaced my blood.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Auntie Funiwe Quotes in Mother to Mother
The Mother to Mother quotes below are all either spoken by Auntie Funiwe or refer to Auntie Funiwe. 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:
).
Chapter 7
Quotes
Then, the flood came. A torrent of tears gushing unchecked down her cheeks. Then followed the wailing. Mama keened as though announcing the death of a beloved, honoured relative.
“What will the church people say?” Mama wailed. “What are they to think of me?” The shame to the family would surely kill her, she said.
Auntie Funiwe reminded her that this was a sad accident and that the family had nothing to be ashamed of. “This child has not disgraced the name of the family.”
“Oh, you don’t know anything,” Mama continued her wailing. “My enemies are going to rejoice. They’re going to laugh at me now.”
“What do you care for such small-minded, mean people?” Auntie asked. “Let them laugh, their turn’ll come,” she said. “Ours now is to look after this child,” she nodded my way. “We must support and protect her now. How do you think she must be feeling?”
Feeling? I was numb, beyond feeling. Mama’s coming, her reaction, had drained the last ounce of feeling from me. Fear. Shame. Anger. All these and more mingled together to form one strong thinning liquid that replaced my blood.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
