Grandma Chance informs the girls of what their ‘real mother was like. ‘We never knew our mother, but Grandma filled the gap’. She is the only source they have who knew their mother as their father probably would not speak of her as he was not married to kitty and Dora and Nora are his illegitimate children. ‘Mrs. Chance always told us she took a good look and managed a smile’. This reassures Dora and Nora and the readers that before her death, she was proud to have her children. When they were growing up, ‘there was dancing and singing all along Bard road’, which is reflected in Dora and Nora’s characters. Throughout their lives they were showgirls and a recurrent theme in the book is theatrical, with the statement ‘what a joy it is to dance and sing!’ being repeated several times throughout the novel. This can also be reflected with the end of the book when Dora and Nora are given Gareth’s babies, who will be brought up in a similar way they were. They sing them songs, like Grandma did. I think Carter has included this in the book as it reassures the readers that the children will be looked after in the same way Grandma looked after the girls. It also has hope that dancing and singing will continue through generations.
‘Mrs. Chance was often stingy with the truth but never lied’. In some ways Carter has connected Dora’s character with Grandma as she doesn’t lie, but admits to readers that her memory is fallible. She often says lines like, ‘I have a memory, though I know it cannot be a true one’ or, ‘I misremember. It was sixty odd years ago you know’. Carter has used a realistic approach when adding these lines in. The reader assumes what Dora says is true, but when she says things like, ‘I could have sworn that…’ the reader has to question what is true and what may not be.
We do not have much information about Grandma; so do not have a clear view on what she is like. We can just assume she was like how Dora and Nora are now, but we cannot be certain. As with all characters in the novel, the reader learns through only Dora’s point of view. The way Carter writes how Dora chooses to describe her friends and family in print creates an impression of the person for the reader to pick up on. This means we only get Dora’s opinion on what Grandma was like.
There is a hint at the end of the novel that Grandma was in fact their real mother and Kitty was made up. Peregrine states, ‘I’ve not got concrete evidence. But sometimes I wonder about your Grandma’. These assumptions made by Perry make Dora question it, ‘which mother? Pretty kitty? Grandma?’ This leaves the reader curious, but the truth will never be known.
The character of grandma carries many of the themes in ‘wise children’. She carries the theme of family. Although not their real mother, grandma cares for Nora and Dora as if they were her own. She also carries the glamour of which Dora and Nora have carried on with their makeup and clothes. She sang to Dora and Nora, which is what they continued later in life. She is a major part in Nora and Dora’s life and therefore is a key character in the novel. Her character is suspect with a hint of mystery. Carter has done this to let the reader imagine what she is like rather than being told, which is effective.
