# Maum Hannah — Scarlet Sister Mary character guide > Maum Hannah in Scarlet Sister Mary by Julia Peterkin. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Hannah, X Maum Hannah, XX Maum Hannah **First appearance:** 0002-i ## Snapshot Mary's grandmother-figure, Maum Hannah keeps the old cabin, the wedding cakes, and the prayers that bind Mary to the faith of her people. ## Who they are Maum Hannah raised Mary in the cabin where Mary was born, and her piercing eyes miss nothing — not the wedding cakes she appraises with leaking jaws, not the shame Mary tries to hide. She prays daily to outlive her crippled son Budda Ben so she can see his coffin made right. Her love is the moral gravity Mary spends the novel straining against. ## Relationships ### [Mary Pinesett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/mary_pinesett) _family_ Maum Hannah is Mary's wise and supportive grandmother, acting as her primary maternal figure and moral guide. ### [Honey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/honey) _social_ Honey and Maum Hannah have a respectful, neighborly relationship within the community. ### [Budda Ben](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/budda_ben) _social_ Budda Ben and Maum Hannah are community elders who interact with mutual respect and occasional disagreement. ### [July Pinesett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/july_pinesett) _family_ July is Maum Hannah's grandson-in-law, but their relationship is strained due to his treatment of Mary. ### [Honey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/honey) _social_ Honey and Maum Hannah have a respectful, neighborly relationship within the community. ### [July Pinesett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/july_pinesett) _family_ July is Maum Hannah's grandson-in-law, but their relationship is strained due to his treatment of Mary. ### [Budda Ben](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/budda_ben) _social_ Budda Ben and Maum Hannah are community elders who interact with mutual respect and occasional disagreement. ### [Mary Pinesett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/mary_pinesett) _family_ Maum Hannah is Mary's wise and supportive grandmother, acting as her primary maternal figure and moral guide. ### [Mary Pinesett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/mary_pinesett) _family_ Maum Hannah is Mary's wise and supportive grandmother, acting as her primary maternal figure and moral guide. ### [Budda Ben](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/budda_ben) _social_ Budda Ben and Maum Hannah are community elders who interact with mutual respect and occasional disagreement. ## In the story ### [Scarlet Sister Mary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/scarlet-sister-mary) An elder figure in the community, likely providing guidance or influence. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/ii) Maum Hannah raised Mary and disapproves of July, preferring June as a husband for Mary. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/iii) Maum Hannah is the maternal figure who raised Mary. She discovers Mary's premarital relations with July and expresses deep disappointment, calling it a 'scarlet sin.' ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/iv) Mary's grandmother, who blesses the marriage and warns Mary against attending the sinners' dance. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/vi) Maum Hannah is an old woman who works in the cotton fields and tells stories about Africa, including her grandparents who were chiefs. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/vii) Hosts the all-night watch meeting at her house. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/viii) Maum Hannah helps Mary after the birth, scolds her for the baby being full-term, but cares for the newborn with pleasure. ### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/ix) Mary recalls Maum Hannah's training about sitting quietly during thunder, showing her influence on Mary's behavior. ### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/x) Keeps Unex while Mary picks cotton. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xi) Maum Hannah advises Mary to visit Daddy Cudjoe for a charm, sharing stories of his magical abilities and the dangers of charms. She brings Mary a gift of blue chicks as a symbol of luck. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xiii) Mentions that prayers are answered; is off with a sick person but later present at the meeting. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xiv) Visits Mary, urges her to pray and seek Jesus, blames Mary's fretting for Unex's cough, and offers to have Budda Ben stay with her. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xv) Urges Mary to attend meeting and pray; describes God as the life of everything and warns about Hell as a lake of fire. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xvii) Maum Hannah helps care for Seraphine when Budda is stuck with the baby, making a sugar rag for the infant. ### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xx) Maum Hannah is preparing to attend a midwife class at Heaven's Gate Church, hobbling with a crippled knee. She sternly rebukes Mary's joking about midwifery and warns her about God's plagues and the danger of sin. ### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xxi) Described as so old she is beyond rivalry, living in a world of God and Jesus, and has been like a mother to Mary. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xxii) Deeply distressed by the new birthing law requiring razors; cries and leans on Mary for support. ### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xxiv) Attends Mary during childbirth, finds the mysterious baby, and later tells Doll about the triplets. ### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xxv) Mentioned as the only person who knows that Seraphine's baby is not Mary's own. ### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xxvii) Maum Hannah visits Mary, lectures her about the permanence of marriage, and expresses pity for Mary's rejection of July. ### [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xxix) Helps care for Unex and takes the other children to give Mary rest. ### [The Death of Unex](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xxx) Sends death cries into the dawn and later takes care of Emma during the funeral. ### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/chapters/xxxii) Hosts the meeting at her house; sits with eyes closed praying. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters/maum_hannah - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/scarlet_sister_mary_se/characters