Thula LaFollette (Rantz) Character Analysis in The Boys in the Boat

Joe Rantz’s stepmother (and, technically, sister-in-law) and Harry Rantz’s second wife, Thula LaFollette is a highly talented but frustrated woman. She excels at playing the violin, but finds few outlets for her artistry, especially after marrying Harry, who forces her to move to miserable mining towns across the Northwest. Thula takes out much of her frustration on Joe Rantz, and eventually she convinces Harry to move away and abandon his son for good. Thelma is a cruel, self-centered woman, who seems to feel no compunction about leaving a boy to feed himself, but it’s still possible to sympathize with her—like so many women at the time, she had no outlet for her talents and ambitions.

Thula LaFollette (Rantz) Quotes in The Boys in the Boat

The The Boys in the Boat quotes below are all either spoken by Thula LaFollette (Rantz) or refer to Thula LaFollette (Rantz). 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:

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Joe and Joyce took the four children out for ice cream and then stopped by a grocery store and bought some basic provisions before dropping them off back at the house. By the next day, when Joe checked, Harry and Thula had returned. But Joe couldn't fathom what his father and Thula had been thinking. Apparently this had been going on all summer long.

Related Characters: Joe Rantz, Joyce Simdars, Harry Rantz, Thula LaFollette (Rantz)

Page Number and Citation: 210

Explanation and Analysis: