If I’d just had a mother so I could say Mother Mother.

This quotation occurs several times toward the end of Quentin’s section. Quentin is reflecting on how little affection his mother gave him as a child. Consumed by self-absorption and insecurities about her family name, Mrs. Compson showed affection for only one of her children, Jason.

Quentin and Caddy formed a close bond as neglected, unloved outsiders, and Quentin developed an inordinately strong attachment to his sister. This bond leads to Quentin’s despair over Caddy’s promiscuity, which ends with his suicide. The object of Quentin’s focus during the last hours of his life—his mother’s absence and neglect—shows how significant and damaging Mrs. Compson’s failure as a mother has been.