Baby Wilson Character Analysis in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Lucile’s daughter Baby is just four years old, but Lucile’s dreams of securing Hollywood stardom for her daughter have already influenced the prissy, haughty way that Baby acts. Always primped and dressed in fancy pink clothes, Baby Wilson draws the ire—and perhaps envy—of her neighborhood friends. When Bubber accidentally shoots Baby while playing with Spareribs’s gun, Baby suffers a head wound and must have all her beautiful yellow curls shaved off at the hospital. After the accident, Baby becomes sullen and contrary, embarrassed by her shorn head and her fall from grace.

Baby Wilson Character Timeline in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

The timeline below shows where the character Baby Wilson appears in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...her sister, the two are very unalike in demeanor and appearance. Lucile readies her daughter, Baby, for the funeral. As she puts waves in Baby’s hair, she tells Biff about how... (full context)

After getting Baby ready, Lucile goes off to get herself dressed. She leaves Baby with Biff, and Baby... (full context)

...the part of him that “almost wishe[s]” he could be a mother to Mick and Baby. (full context)

...not let anything happen to Ralph. As Mick heads down the steps, however, she spots Baby Wilson across the street dressed in a fancy pink outfit. Bubber calls Baby over, but... (full context)

...mouth and body move in slow motion as her father comes out to help carry Baby inside the house. Baby’s mother Lucile comes hurrying over, and together, she and Mr. Kelly... (full context)

...She goes up to talk to him. Bubber is crying, full of regret over hurting Baby. Rather than comforting him, Mick decides to trick him. She tells him that Baby is... (full context)

...or pressing charges against Bubber, she’s only refraining from doing either because she doesn’t want Baby swept up in a “common lawsuit” that could damage her reputation. Mrs. Wilson says that... (full context)

One Sunday, Lucile and Baby come to the café for lunch. Baby still has a bandage on her head, and... (full context)

...of adopting a boy and a girl—sweet, round-cheeked children who will look like Mick and Baby. Biff begins looking back on unpleasant and embarrassing moments throughout his marriage to Alice, and... (full context)

In the wake of Bubber and Baby’s accident, the Kelly family—forced to repay Lucile each month—has fallen on hard times. Mick hardly... (full context)