# Mother — The Getting of Wisdom character guide

> Mother in The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Nietzsche Mother, Mother'll

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

Laura and Pin's widowed mother, sewing dresses by lamplight and pinching pennies, whose tired authority and sacrifice shadow her daughter's school years.

## Who they are

Mother is the hard-pressed widow holding the bush household together, stitching Laura's school dress herself and snapping at her daughter's defiance with the exhaustion of a woman who has sewn all day. Her relationship with Laura is tense and unsentimental: she corrects, she shakes, she sends her eldest away to be educated beyond her own means. She matters because she represents the sacrifice and the narrowness of home, the world Laura is both escaping and betraying as she climbs into school society.

## Relationships

### [Laura Rambotham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/laura_rambotham)

_family_

Laura has a close but strained relationship with her mother, who is both a source of support and pressure for her to succeed socially and academically.

### [Pin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/pin)

_family_

Mother dotes on Pin, creating a dynamic where Pin is favored, which sometimes causes jealousy in Laura.

### [Laura Rambotham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/laura_rambotham)

_family_

Laura has a close but strained relationship with her mother, who is both a source of support and pressure for her to succeed socially and academically.

### [Pin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/pin)

_family_

Mother dotes on Pin, creating a dynamic where Pin is favored, which sometimes causes jealousy in Laura.

### [Laura Rambotham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/laura_rambotham)

_family_

Laura has a close but strained relationship with her mother, who is both a source of support and pressure for her to succeed socially and academically.

### [Pin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/pin)

_family_

Mother dotes on Pin, creating a dynamic where Pin is favored, which sometimes causes jealousy in Laura.

## In the story

### [The Getting of Wisdom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/the-getting-of-wisdom)

Laura's mother, who accompanies her to the station and gives her advice before departure.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/i)

Angry at Laura's self-inflicted haircut, but later shows a hint of amusement and secretly saves the curl.

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

Anxious and stern, she cuts sandwiches for Laura's journey, expresses worry about Laura's disobedience, and tries to have a serious talk with her.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/iv)

Mentioned as the one who trimmed Laura's hat and insisted on the scarlet lining, causing Laura embarrassment.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/vi)

Mother writes a harsh letter reprimanding Laura for vulgarity, lying, and poor spelling, then later relents.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/ix)

Writes a scolding letter to Laura, accusing her of ingratitude and urging her to be good and useful rather than clever.

### [The Purple Dress and the Price of Conformity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/x)

Imposes her imaginative, unconventional taste in clothing on Laura, causing Laura deep social distress.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xix)

Mentioned in Laura's plan to beg not to return to school; writes to delay Laura's return due to the boys' sandy blight; her sewing work is discussed by Pin.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxiv)

Unaware of Laura's troubles, she scolds Laura for her behavior and laments the cost of her education.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/mother
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters