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Paul’s mother is insecure, anxious, obsessed with material wealth, and incapable of love. As a mother, she is removed and cold, and she tries in vain to hide her inability to love others from her children. Though she originally married for love, she now shows disdain for her husband and disinterest in his job, dismissing his income as insubstantial and his abilities unworthy of note. She spends most of her energy keeping up appearances, as others perceive her to be wealthy, happy, and a good mother to her son, Paul, and two younger daughters. 

Unrelentingly critical of those around her, Paul’s mother is also deprecatory toward herself. She feels shame for her inability to love her children, though she makes no attempt to improve her heartlessness. She believes in herself and her ability to solve the family’s financial problems, but she is her own worst enemy. She cannot even enjoy her own success as an advertisement sketch artist because her artist friend earns more money than she does. Paul’s mother fails to accept her place in society, and her inability to be the best and greatest erases any hope of happiness or gratitude in her life.  Her anxieties about financial wealth age her quickly, and she projects them on her household so forcefully that her family members perceive manifestations of haunting voices chanting her worries. Paul’s mother develops maternal intuition only as her son declines into madness, though she appears vexed as her child’s illness demands her to step into the role of mother. She remains nameless until the final lines of the story reveal her to be Hester, suggesting a loss of self in her pursuit of material possessions. 

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