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Mrs. Hopewell is Hulga’s mother and the owner of the farm they live on together. She believes in having an optimistic outlook on people and life. Her three favorite sayings are “nothing is perfect,” “that is life,” and “well, other people have their opinions too.” However, she judges people for their imperfections, lives, and opinions. She might say that “everybody is different” and “it takes all kinds to make the world,” but she truly only likes people who fit her sentimental ideal of “good country people.” When she makes up her mind that a person fits this ideal, she is blind to their true nature. Her worldview keeps her from seeing through Manley Pointer’s con, which puts her daughter in danger.
Mrs. Hopewell does not apply her generous, accepting ideas to her daughter, Hulga. Although Hulga is thirty-two years old, Mrs. Hopewell treats her like a child. She has trouble thinking of her as an adult because her daughter breaks with conventional norms, especially in her disinterest in young men and marriage. Mrs. Hopewell refuses to call her Hulga because she thinks the name is ugly and was chosen to spite her. She wants her child to be joyful, not philosophical and cynical. She regrets sending Hulga to college, as Hulga returned home a complex person whom Mrs. Hopewell cannot understand.
Ultimately, Mrs. Hopewell’s actions do not fit her ideals, making her a hypocrite. At the end of the story, she remains unchanged. Her encounter with Manley is superficial and serves only to support her views of good country people. She does not see Manley’s true nature like Hulga does. She lives in isolation on her farm, so she continues living her life blissfully unaware of the world’s darkness.
