Mr. Winterbottom Character Analysis in Walk Two Moons

Mr. Winterbottom is Phoebe and Prudence’s father and Mrs. Winterbottom’s husband. Both Sal and Phoebe think of Mr. Winterbottom as upstanding and stoic. Sal describes him as a stereotypical father: he eats dinner with his family every night seated at the head of the table, with his white shirtsleeves rolled up and his tie still around his neck. He speaks loudly and clearly—and like his daughters, he doesn’t pay much attention to Mrs. Winterbottom. Phoebe believes her father doesn’t care about Mrs. Winterbottom when he refuses to go to the police after his wife disappears. Instead of panicking, Mr. Winterbottom does his best to keep his daughters’ lives as normal as possible, while also trying to reach out and track down his wife. Sal doesn’t believe Mr. Winterbottom cares at all about Mrs. Winterbottom until she and Phoebe catch him crying while doing the dishes one night. When Mrs. Winterbottom returns accompanied by a young man, Mr. Winterbottom is upset at first—but not for the reasons that Mrs. Winterbottom expected him to be. Mrs. Winterbottom reveals that the young man, Mike, is her son; she gave him up for adoption before she met her husband, and she never spoke about it out of fear of not looking “respectable” enough to Mr. Winterbottom. But Mr. Winterbottom isn’t interested in respectability—what bothers him is that his wife didn’t feel like she could share this with him. He ultimately accepts Mike as a member of the family.

Mr. Winterbottom Quotes in Walk Two Moons

The Walk Two Moons quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Winterbottom or refer to Mr. Winterbottom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Judgment, Perspective, and Storytelling Theme Icon

From what I could gather, Mr. Winterbottom worked in an office, creating road maps. Mrs. Winterbottom baked and cleaned and did laundry and grocery shopping. I had a funny feeling that Mrs. Winterbottom did not actually like all this baking and cleaning and laundry and shopping, and I’m not quite sure why I had that feeling because if you just listened to the words she said, it sounded as if she was Mrs. Supreme Housewife.

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, Phoebe Winterbottom, Mrs. Winterbottom, Mr. Winterbottom

Page Number and Citation: 27

Explanation and Analysis:

Ben touched Phoebe’s arm. She flinched. “Ha,” he said. “Gotcha. You’re jumpy, too, Free Bee.”

And that, too, bothered me. I had already noticed how tense Phoebe’s whole family seemed, how tidy, how respectable, how thumpingly stiff. Was I becoming like that? Why were they like that? A couple times I had seen Phoebe’s mother try to touch Phoebe or Prudence or Mr. Winterbottom, but they all drew back from her. It was as if they had outgrown her.

Had I been drawing away from my own mother? Did she have empty spaces left over? Was that why she left?

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, Phoebe Winterbottom, Ben Finney, Mrs. Winterbottom, Mr. Winterbottom, Prudence Winterbottom

Page Number and Citation: 62

Explanation and Analysis:

Mr. Winterbottom Character Timeline in Walk Two Moons

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Winterbottom appears in Walk Two Moons. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Parents, Children, and Growing Up Theme Icon

...anything in response, Phoebe launches into a story about a time when she, Mrs. Winterbottom, Mr. Winterbottom , and Phoebe’s sister, Prudence, went to a state fair. There was a man there... (full context)

Phoebe leads Sal into the kitchen and explains that Mr. Winterbottom doesn’t look anywhere close to 52 years old. Her mother, Mrs. Winterbottom, is in the... (full context)

...to Mr. Cadaver. Sal explains that just as Phoebe was going to say what happened, Mr. Winterbottom got home, and it was time for dinner. In the story, Sal is sitting around... (full context)

Mr. Winterbottom works in an office, while Mrs. Winterbottom is a housewife. She spends her days doing... (full context)

...when Mrs. Winterbottom uses pet names, like “sweetie pie” and “honey bun,” to talk to Mr. Winterbottom . This is because Mrs. Winterbottom seems used to being “plain and ordinary.” In contrast,... (full context)

...the “potential lunatic.” This seems to upset Mrs. Winterbottom, and she suggests they don’t tell Mr. Winterbottom about the lunatic. Later, Phoebe tells Sal that this is odd: her mother never keeps... (full context)

The girls try to figure out what the message means. They wonder if it’s for Mr. Winterbottom , since he goes to a lot of work meetings and meetings have agendas, but... (full context)

...mean. He draws two moons in a pair of moccasins. Mary Lou suggests that perhaps Mr. Winterbottom is judging people at work, but Phoebe snaps that her father doesn’t judge people. (full context)

Sal is at Phoebe’s the following Saturday. Mrs. Winterbottom is running errands, while Mr. Winterbottom is golfing. Mrs. Winterbottom instructed the girls to call the police or Mrs. Cadaver if... (full context)

...thought she saw someone frightening. Phoebe says she saw the lunatic and they should tell Mr. Winterbottom . Sal realizes that Mrs. Winterbottom is more afraid than even Phoebe is. To Sal’s... (full context)

...There’s a pie and three notes on the table, one each for Prudence, Phoebe, and Mr. Winterbottom . Phoebe’s note reads that she should keep the doors locked and call Mr. Winterbottom... (full context)

Prudence and Phoebe pepper Mr. Winterbottom with questions. Phoebe wants to call the police, since the lunatic might have kidnapped Mrs.... (full context)

...crying, though Phoebe denies it. In the morning, Phoebe refuses to get up and tells Mr. Winterbottom she’s very sick, possibly with cancer. Mr. Winterbottom says they have to live their lives... (full context)

...touches Mrs. Winterbottom’s favorite cardigan and asks if her mother would really leave it behind. Mr. Winterbottom insists it’s old, but Phoebe puts it on. (full context)

...But instead, there are frozen casseroles with cooking instructions taped to the top. Prudence shows Mr. Winterbottom the freezer when he gets home, but he just says, “Hm.” (full context)

Over dinner, Mr. Winterbottom says he hasn’t heard from Mrs. Winterbottom. He refuses to call the police and then... (full context)

A new message appears the day after Phoebe shows Mr. Winterbottom her suspicious evidence. This one reads, “You can’t keep the birds of sadness from flying... (full context)

...say something about Mrs. Winterbottom but instead says she’ll ask her dad. The girls find Mr. Winterbottom in the kitchen, washing dishes in a frilly apron. Phoebe critiques his technique. He looks... (full context)

...feels like “dumping [her] cholesterol-free body out the window.” Phoebe doesn’t respond and instead pesters Mr. Winterbottom with questions about Mrs. Winterbottom. He explains that Mrs. Winterbottom called Mrs. Cadaver to say... (full context)

...a look at the pictures on Sergeant Bickle’s desk. Finally, Sergeant Bickle comes back with Mr. Winterbottom . Phoebe looks relieved, but Mr. Winterbottom seems embarrassed. (full context)

Mr. Winterbottom drives to his house and tells Phoebe and Sal to wait while he speaks to... (full context)

...Mrs. Cadaver’s house. But one evening, Phoebe sees Mrs. Cadaver leave for work, waits until Mr. Winterbottom falls asleep, and then calls Sal and tells her to come over. Sal goes and... (full context)

...traveler. Is death actually normal and terrible? She lies awake the entire night, thinking about Mr. Winterbottom crying. He’s normally so stiff that this is the only clue Sal has that he... (full context)

...says she has something to tell her about Mr. Birkway. But the doorbell rings, and Mr. Winterbottom tells Phoebe and Sal to come downstairs. Mr. Birkway is there, and Sal feels terrible—Phoebe... (full context)

Prudence tells Phoebe and Mr. Winterbottom that Mrs. Winterbottom didn’t say much, but she did ask that Mr. Winterbottom not make... (full context)

...begs her to come over. She says she needs a witness, and she hasn’t told Mr. Winterbottom what she saw. Phoebe says that Mr. Winterbottom and Prudence have been cleaning the house... (full context)

Sal finds Mr. Winterbottom , Phoebe, and Prudence sitting around, doing nothing. Mr. Winterbottom is a nervous wreck; he... (full context)

...looked yesterday. For that matter, Mrs. Winterbottom doesn’t look afraid of Mike—she looks afraid of Mr. Winterbottom . Sal can tell Phoebe’s heart is breaking as Mrs. Winterbottom hugs Phoebe. Then, Mr.... (full context)

...and starts to cry. She says things that don’t make sense about being respectable, about Mr. Winterbottom not forgiving her, and she says she has a secret that Mr. Winterbottom might not... (full context)

Mr. Winterbottom says he’s not worried about respectability; it concerns him more that Mrs. Winterbottom didn’t feel... (full context)

Sal wishes she weren’t here, and she feels sad for Phoebe’s family and for herself. Mr. Winterbottom says they all need to sit down and talk. Then, he shakes Mike’s hand and... (full context)