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Symbols
One of the most poignant symbols in Room is the act of breastfeeding, which represents the close supportive bond between Ma and Jack. Jack refers to the ritual as “having some,” and though he is five years old at the start of the novel, he “has some” from Ma several times a day. Ma is slightly reluctant to breastfeed Jack so often as he’s getting older, but she continues because breastfeeding is a comfort and a balm for both of them. Breastfeeding is one component of bonding between new mothers and their infants, and a natural way of nourishing a newborn—but for Ma and Jack, the ritual of breastfeeding has become something more. Jack is not the only one being nourished by the act of breastfeeding—Ma is also emotionally comforted and nourished because the ritual keeps her close to Jack, and in this way, breastfeeding becomes a symbol of the symbiotic relationship between Ma and Jack and the mutual care and support they give to one another in the midst of their depressing, chaotic circumstances. After Ma and Jack leave Room and enter the real world, many people—including Dr. Kendrick and Dr. Clay, their doctors at the Cumberland Clinic, as well as Grandma—are confused or even put off by the fact that the five-year-old Jack still breastfeeds. Ma defensively states that there “was no reason to stop” breastfeeding Jack inside of Room, but what she doesn’t say is that there were many reasons to actually keep up with the practice, as it allowed Ma and Jack to sustain one another not just physiologically but emotionally. After Ma’s suicide attempt, she is hospitalized while Jack stays with Grandma and Steppa, and by the time she returns, her breasts have stopped producing milk; she tells Jack his days of “having some” are over. Though Ma can no longer provide Jack with physical nourishment—and though he no longer needs it—the mutually supportive relationship they share has been firmly cemented, and Donoghue suggests that they will continue to sustain and support one another in new ways as time goes by and they adjust to life in the real world.
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Breastfeeding Symbol Timeline in Room
The timeline below shows where the symbol Breastfeeding appears in Room. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Presents
...Ma asks if they can stop now that Jack is five, but Jack insists on breastfeeding.
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...and Old Nick. After reading, Ma and Jack lie down for a nap, and Jack breastfeeds.
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At three minutes before nine, Jack asks Ma if he can breastfeed. She tells him it’s too late and instructs him to get into Wardrobe and lie...
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...a wildlife program on TV. When Ma shuts TV off, Jack feels like crying. After breastfeeding and listening to some more stories and rhymes, Jack lets Ma carry him into Wardrobe....
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...Ma and Jack argue, and Jack begins sobbing. To calm Jack down, Ma lets him breastfeed.
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Unlying
...sick of most of the books in Room. After reading some Alice in Wonderland, Jack breastfeeds, and then he and Ma play Scream again. During Scream, Jack can’t stop staring at...
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Dying
...ever rescue them. Jack tells Ma that she doesn’t “know everything,” and then asks to breastfeed. Ma feeds him, and when she’s done, she tells him that they need to get...
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...Jack over to the bed, asking if he wants “some.” Jack hungrily accepts and begins breastfeeding—while he’s feeding, Ma asks him to remember a documentary they saw on TV once about...
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After
...she tells Jack she’s busy. Jack continues prodding her, though, and finally she lets him breastfeed. The captain asks if Ma wants some privacy, but Ma says she wants to get...
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...down. Ma brings Jack back inside and up to their room, where she lets Jack breastfeed for a while.
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After dinner, while Jack breastfeeds on the bed, he asks Ma about “the first baby.” Ma explains that a year...
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...can later on. Grandma asks what Jack means, and Ma tells her he’s talking about breastfeeding. Grandma is shocked to realize that Jack still breastfeeds, but Ma explains that “there was...
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...terrible nightmares all night, and when he wakes up in a sweat, Ma lets him breastfeed. Afterwards, he confesses to her that he kept six toys, not five. Ma says it’s...
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...answer as many questions as she can. The interviewer presses Ma about her decision to breastfeed Jack throughout his childhood, about “deceiving” her child about the reality of the world outside...
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Living
...Jack get ready for sleep and climb into bed. Jack pulls Ma’s t-shirt up to breastfeed, but Ma tells him that she has no more milk for him. Jack kisses Ma’s...
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