Previous
Mary (Twyla’s Mother)
Unlike Mary, Roberta’s mother is never named, and the details of her character remains vague. She is described as “sick,” though it is unclear what she suffers from and possible that it is a mental, rather than physical, illness. When she arrives to visit Roberta at St. Bonny’s, Twyla describes her as “bigger than any man,” wearing an enormous cross and carrying a Bible. In contrast to Mary, Roberta’s mother is deeply religious and serious. Later in the story, Roberta reveals that her mother was raised in an “institution” and that Roberta expected to be, too. In the final scene, Roberta sadly admits that her mother never got better.
Roberta’s Mother Quotes in Recitatif
The Recitatif quotes below are all either spoken by Roberta’s Mother or refer to Roberta’s Mother. 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:
).
Recitatif
Quotes
My mother danced all night and Roberta’s was sick. That’s why we were taken to St. Bonny’s.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I thought if my dancing mother met her sick mother it might be good for her. And Roberta thought her sick mother would get a big bang out of a dancing one. We got excited about it and curled each other's hair.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I brought a painted sign in queenly red with huge black letters that said, IS YOUR MOTHER WELL?. Roberta took her lunch break and didn't come back for the rest of the day or any day after. Two days later I stopped going too and couldn't have been missed because nobody understood my signs anyway.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
"Did I tell you? My mother, she never did stop dancing."
"Yes. You told me. And mine, she never got well." Roberta lifted her hands from the tabletop and covered her face with her palms. When she took them away she really was crying. "Oh, shit, Twyla. Shit, shit, shit. What the hell happened to Maggie?"
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Recitatif LitChart as a printable PDF.
Roberta’s Mother Quotes in Recitatif
The Recitatif quotes below are all either spoken by Roberta’s Mother or refer to Roberta’s Mother. 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:
).
Recitatif
Quotes
My mother danced all night and Roberta’s was sick. That’s why we were taken to St. Bonny’s.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I thought if my dancing mother met her sick mother it might be good for her. And Roberta thought her sick mother would get a big bang out of a dancing one. We got excited about it and curled each other's hair.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I brought a painted sign in queenly red with huge black letters that said, IS YOUR MOTHER WELL?. Roberta took her lunch break and didn't come back for the rest of the day or any day after. Two days later I stopped going too and couldn't have been missed because nobody understood my signs anyway.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
"Did I tell you? My mother, she never did stop dancing."
"Yes. You told me. And mine, she never got well." Roberta lifted her hands from the tabletop and covered her face with her palms. When she took them away she really was crying. "Oh, shit, Twyla. Shit, shit, shit. What the hell happened to Maggie?"
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
