# Grandma — The Autobiography of an Idea character guide

> Grandma in The Autobiography of an Idea by Louis H. Sullivan.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0000-i-the-child

## Snapshot

The household's quiet anchor, she knits, keeps the account books, and teaches French to Boston's brahmins while holding fast to a faith no one else shares.

## Who they are

Grandma is the responsible head of a family that sits, as Sullivan puts it, 'without the pale' — her husband mocks religion, her son chases oratory, her daughter-in-law drifts through ethereal spirals of belief. Alone among them she is devout, believing in a love 'freely given to the outcast,' and she neither proselytes nor disturbs. Her grandson loves her not for creed but because she is good, true, and beautiful to his eyes; her methodical thrift and tireless knitting hold the household together through its lean years.

## Relationships

### [The Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/characters/the_child)

_family_

Grandma is a nurturing presence, offering comfort and domestic stability to the child.

### [Grandpa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/characters/grandpa)

_family_

Grandma and Grandpa are a married couple, providing a stable and affectionate household.

### [The Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/characters/the_child)

_family_

Grandma is a nurturing presence, offering comfort and domestic stability to the child.

## In the story

### [I: The Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/chapters/i-the-child)

The child's grandmother, who along with Grandpa loves and cares for him on the farm.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/chapters/ii)

Takes the teacher's letter seriously, gently scolds Louis, and encourages him to do better for the family's pride.

### [VII: Boston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/chapters/vii-boston)

Louis's grandmother, whom he visits in South Reading.

### [IX: Boston—The English High School](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/chapters/ix-boston-the-english-high-school)

Present in the domestic scene, knitting by the student lamp as Louis studies.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/characters/grandma
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/characters