She is very interested in Politics and she still corresponds with her congressman and with political dictators from all over the world trying to change their way of leading their people by convincing them to take care of the people’s welfare: “Out on her coffee table, as usual, were the letters she was writing to her congressman and to political dictators around the globe. Fenstad's mother pleaded for enlightened behavior and berated the dictators for their bad political habits.” (p. 116). Her picture with Martin Luther King is the embodiment of her activities and her main concern in life: “In the picture King was shaking hands with Fenstad's mother.” (p. 116).
Her strong interest in Politics also explains her immediate fascination with York Follette. As soon as she heard he was black and reads an anarchist magazine, right away he sounded like a person she would be interested in meeting: “I want to meet him,"... "A man with ideas. People like that have gone out of my life.” (p. 117).
Her needs are very basic and minimal. This is why the box of Chocolate on her T.V. catches Fenstad’s eyes immediately. A luxury like Chocolate (passion / love) is like a stranger at his Mother’s surrounding: “He reached down for a chocolate-chunk cookie from a box on top of the television. “Who brought you these?” (p. 116).
She can’t relate to concepts such as religion and love. It sounds too far fetched compared to her social interests. She doesn’t consider love to be an important issue, marriage to her is some sort of an alliance, romantic emotions are optional, love is not a vital component in a marriage: “Why can't you learn to live with the wrong person? Sooner or later everyone's wrong. Love isn't the most important thing, far from it. Why can't you see that?” (p. 116), “I don't understand all this pickiness about lovers. In a pinch anybody'll do, Harry, believe me.” (p. 117).
She is characterized by Optimism and Didacticism – like her own Son testifies: “This hopefulness and didacticism he had picked up from his mother.” (p. 117)
She is eager to learn new things and to be exposed to as many ideas as possible: “You should expand my horizons” (p. 117), “Thanks for the adventure, Harry. I do appreciate it. What're you doing in class next week?” (p. 121), or when Follette introduces her to Jazz: “York is explaining to me about Art Tatum and jazz. Next week he's going to try something more progressive on me.” (p. 125).
The first change in the character of Fenstad’s mother is when she said to Fenstad: “I want to get out…You should expand my horizons. Take me somewhere”. (p. 117). While speaking to Fenstand, she meant it literally and yet, it is a challenge for her to get out of her closed world, trying new things she never let herself experiencing before. She spontaneously accepts her Son’s offer to join him in his evening class where he teaches adults.
She is a stylish woman and she has a classic taste, but when she goes to the composition class she becomes more down to earth, her stylish outfit (Classic dark-blue overcoat) is “broken” by the red earmuffs she put on to protect her ears from the freezing weather: “dressed in a dark blue overcoat - her best. Her stylishness was belied slightly by a pair of old fuzzy red earmuffs.” (p.117), “I liked the columns on the old buildings," she said, "the old university buildings, I mean. I liked Greek Revival better than this Modernist-bunker stuff." Inside, she blinked in the light at the smooth, waxed linoleum floors and cement-block walls.” (p. 118).
Another change is when she wears perfume. Her son testifies that it is unusual for her and we also figure it out from a previous description of her apartment which smells of Lysol and soap: “Inside the car Fenstad noticed that she had put on perfume, unusual for her.” (p. 117).
Her tough-optimism musk cracks and reveals sadness and delicacy. All her life she used to hide her feelings in order to present a strong and “IN FULL CONTROL” character of a social rebel. Even her son was surprised to see signs of emotions suddenly appear on her face: “He looked at his mother and saw, as they passed under a streetlight, a combination of sadness and delicacy in her face. Her usual mask of tough optimism seemed to be deserting her.” (p. 117).
During one of the descriptions of Fenstad’s class, when he first introduced her to his class, he gave us a picture of her like the “Queen of the working class” when she bowed at the students while the applauded at her: “they turned around collectively and looked at Fenstad's mother, who smiled and waved. A few of the students began to applaud, others joined in. The applause was quiet but apparently genuine. Fenstad's mother brought herself slowly to her feet and made a suggestion of a bow.” (p. 118).
This image is something which characterize her from beginning to end as well her didacticism and her eagerness to learn new things and to be exposed to as many ideas as possible. This is what she considered to be the essence of life: New ideas and arguing about these ideas, like shaping the new face of society.
Her image as Queen of the working class finds its expression in the dinner scene, the incident with the poor girl: Fenstad’s Mother took off her coat in order to give it to the freezing girl. She didn’t think of herself but only how to protect the poor woman whom she considered as a victim of a sick society which lets her people to get into such a poor situation. By this gesture she took on her the responsibility for the girl’s Misery.
This sacrifice she was willing to make got a special focus especially on the background of Fenstad’s reaction to the situation - he took out his wallet and offered her money. An impersonal gesture, he avoid taking any responsibility – a remote attitude.
The people feel that she is willing to give them more than anybody else. Even at the class, they would rather speak with her than listening to Fenstad: “Two of the students sitting in front of her turned around and began to talk to her At the front of the class. Fenstad started his lecture on
logic...” (p. 118)
And yet, she did not enforce her will. She let go.
Her didacticism and eagerness for new ideas find their expression in the last scene when she listens to Jazz – she opened herself for new things and she finds the light in it: “she now often mentioned glimpses” (p. 125).
Music became like spiritual experience, something which can easily be related to Religion or even Love – things she never felt comfortable with.
So in many ways we can say that her basic characteristics remain the same all along:
She is still optimistic, didactic, and open for new ideas and willing to listen and yet, her way of dealing with these characteristics is more moderate now, less aggressive: “This is my unique problem, Harry." Fenstad's mother coughed and then waited to recover her breath. "I never heard enough jazz." She smiled.” (p. 125).
She just lets herself be, she came to understand that life is not a battlefield – there’s a room for feelings too.
