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Kate Jerome is the primary caretaker of the Jerome-Morton clan. The audience first views her setting the table, which is an apt image because Kate organizes the household, the money, and the meals. She mothers her children, her nieces, and even her sister, Blanche, giving them orders and looking out for their health. Kate tries to manage Blanche’s personal life, too, encouraging Blanche to let Kate introduce her to marriageable men. Part of Kate’s encouragement arises from love for Blanche and part from a sense of duty. Even though Kate believes that when you inherit a family, you also inherit that family’s problems, she still gets angry at Blanche for taking so much from her. This long-simmering resentment, which began in their childhood, erupts in Act Two. This time, Kate’s anger is not only about doing more work or having less than Blanche, but about the health of her husband, Jack. As Kate perceives it, Jack wore himself out supporting Blanche’s children as well as his own.

While Kate manages the household, she still defers all decisions regarding the people who live within its walls to Jack, with one notable exception: when Stanley confesses that he lost his salary, Kate warns him against telling Jack the truth. She worries that one more financial setback could make Jack sicker. This action reveals that Kate can handle problems on her own and doesn’t need to rely on Jack all the time.

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