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Ben Finney
Margaret Cadaver is, for much of the novel, an antagonist in Sal’s eyes. From Sal’s perspective, Margaret appeared suddenly in Dad’s life about the time that Momma died, and she’s the reason why Dad insisted they move from Bybanks, Kentucky to Euclid, Ohio. It also doesn’t help that because of her wild red hair, her last name, and her job as a nurse, Sal’s friend Phoebe insists that Margaret is, if not a witch, at least evil. Phoebe also suspects that Margaret cut up her husband, Mr. Cadaver, and buried him in her backyard. Though Sal finds all of this far-fetched, Phoebe’s stories give Sal a reason to hate Margaret. For her part, Margaret does her best to give Sal her space to grieve and takes Sal’s standoffish attitude in stride. As the novel progresses, Sal learns things about Margaret that start to change how she thinks of the woman: Margaret is Sal’s teacher, Mr. Birkway’s, twin sister, and he reveals that his sister isn’t a murderer. Rather, she was the nurse on duty in the emergency room when her husband and mother (Mrs. Partridge) were brought in on stretchers after being hit by a drunk driver. Her husband was killed, and her mother was left blind by the accident. Learning this makes Sal wonder how Margaret managed to get past her sadness and live her life again. Ultimately, Sal does seek out Margaret and learn how Dad met her. Margaret met Momma when they ended up on the same bus headed west to Lewiston, Idaho. Over the course of the journey, Momma told Margaret all about Sal and Dad. Margaret was the only person to survive the bus accident that killed Momma, and she met Dad while she was hospitalized in Lewiston for her injuries. She assures Sal that she’s not going to marry Dad, at least not any time soon—Dad, she insists, is still grieving for Momma.
Mrs. Margaret Cadaver Quotes in Walk Two Moons
The Walk Two Moons quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Margaret Cadaver or refer to Mrs. Margaret Cadaver. 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:
).
Chapter 27
Quotes
I knew Phoebe was convinced that her mother was kidnapped because it was impossible for Phoebe to imagine that her mother could leave for any other reason. I wanted to call Phoebe and say that maybe her mother had gone looking for something, maybe her mother was unhappy, maybe there was nothing Phoebe could do about it.
When I told this part to Gram and Gramps, Gramps said, “You mean it had nothing to do with Peeby?” They looked at each other. They didn’t say anything, but there was something in that look that suggested I had just said something important. For the first time, it occurred to me that maybe my mother’s leaving had nothing whatsoever to do with me. It was separate and apart. We couldn’t own our mothers.
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Chapter 33
Quotes
I started wondering if the birds of sadness had built their next in Mrs. Cadaver’s hair afterward, and if so, how she got rid of them. Her husband dying and her mother being blinded were events that would matter in the course of a lifetime. I saw everyone else going on with their own agendas while Mrs. Cadaver was frantically trying to keep her husband and her mother alive. Did she regret anything? Did she know the worth of water before the well was dry?
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Mrs. Margaret Cadaver Quotes in Walk Two Moons
The Walk Two Moons quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Margaret Cadaver or refer to Mrs. Margaret Cadaver. 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:
).
Chapter 27
Quotes
I knew Phoebe was convinced that her mother was kidnapped because it was impossible for Phoebe to imagine that her mother could leave for any other reason. I wanted to call Phoebe and say that maybe her mother had gone looking for something, maybe her mother was unhappy, maybe there was nothing Phoebe could do about it.
When I told this part to Gram and Gramps, Gramps said, “You mean it had nothing to do with Peeby?” They looked at each other. They didn’t say anything, but there was something in that look that suggested I had just said something important. For the first time, it occurred to me that maybe my mother’s leaving had nothing whatsoever to do with me. It was separate and apart. We couldn’t own our mothers.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 33
Quotes
I started wondering if the birds of sadness had built their next in Mrs. Cadaver’s hair afterward, and if so, how she got rid of them. Her husband dying and her mother being blinded were events that would matter in the course of a lifetime. I saw everyone else going on with their own agendas while Mrs. Cadaver was frantically trying to keep her husband and her mother alive. Did she regret anything? Did she know the worth of water before the well was dry?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
