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The Sleer
Mrs. Owens is a kindly ghost who appoints herself Bod’s adoptive mother when the ghost of Bod’s recently murdered biological mother begs the Owenses to protect the baby. Mrs. Owens is a stout woman who’s generous and kind. During her lifetime several hundred years before the novel begins, she and her husband, Mr. Owens, weren’t able to have children of their own. Thus, Mrs. Owens is thankful to have a chance at parenthood when Bod toddles into the graveyard. Though she doesn’t figure prominently in Bod’s day-to-day life in the graveyard, she’s nevertheless a loving, comforting presence in his life, and Bod strives to make her proud. She encourages Bod to appreciate his education and be polite to people like Silas and Miss Lupescu, even if they seem overly strict. Mrs. Owens is overcome with emotion when at 15, Bod begins to outgrow his Freedom of the Graveyard and ultimately leaves the graveyard for the real world. She’s the last ghost that Bod can see—harkening back to how she was the first one to take him in—though she disappears for him before Bod can hug her goodbye.
Mrs. Owens Quotes in The Graveyard Book
The The Graveyard Book quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Owens or refer to Mrs. Owens. 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 1
Quotes
Mrs. Owens bent down to the baby and extended her arms. “Come now,” she said, warmly. “Come to Mama.”
To the man Jack, walking through the graveyard towards them on a path, his knife already in his hand, it seemed as if a swirl of mist had curled around the child, in the moonlight, and that the boy was no longer there: just damp mist and moonlight and swaying grass.
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“It must be good,” said Silas, “to have somewhere that you belong. Somewhere that’s home.” There was nothing wistful in the way he said this. His voice was drier than deserts, and he said it as if he were simply stating something unarguable. Mrs. Owens did not argue.
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Chapter 7
Quotes
Mrs. Owens reached out a hand, touched her son’s shoulder. “One day,” she said...and then she hesitated. One day she would not be able to touch him. One day, he would leave them. One day.
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“You want to know your name, boy, before I spill your blood on the stone?”
Bod felt the cold of the knife at his neck. And in that moment, Bod understood. Everything slowed. Everything came into focus. “I know my name,” he said. “I’m Nobody Owens. That’s who I am.”
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Get the entire The Graveyard Book LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mrs. Owens Quotes in The Graveyard Book
The The Graveyard Book quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Owens or refer to Mrs. Owens. 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 1
Quotes
Mrs. Owens bent down to the baby and extended her arms. “Come now,” she said, warmly. “Come to Mama.”
To the man Jack, walking through the graveyard towards them on a path, his knife already in his hand, it seemed as if a swirl of mist had curled around the child, in the moonlight, and that the boy was no longer there: just damp mist and moonlight and swaying grass.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“It must be good,” said Silas, “to have somewhere that you belong. Somewhere that’s home.” There was nothing wistful in the way he said this. His voice was drier than deserts, and he said it as if he were simply stating something unarguable. Mrs. Owens did not argue.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7
Quotes
Mrs. Owens reached out a hand, touched her son’s shoulder. “One day,” she said...and then she hesitated. One day she would not be able to touch him. One day, he would leave them. One day.
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“You want to know your name, boy, before I spill your blood on the stone?”
Bod felt the cold of the knife at his neck. And in that moment, Bod understood. Everything slowed. Everything came into focus. “I know my name,” he said. “I’m Nobody Owens. That’s who I am.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
