Mary, Mary · Chapter
II explained
Mary Makebelieve's daily routine is depicted, from lighting a difficult fire each morning to sharing breakfast in bed with her mother, who talks incessantly about past events, future errands, and elaborate plans for improving their room.
What happens
Mary Makebelieve's daily routine is depicted, from lighting a difficult fire each morning to sharing breakfast in bed with her mother, who talks incessantly about past events, future errands, and elaborate plans for improving their room. After her mother leaves, Mary returns to bed, then tidies up and spends her days walking the streets or sitting in St. Stephen's Green Park, where she observes the ducks and eels, imagines stories about the flowers, and later shops along Grafton and O'Connell Streets. In the evenings, she and her mother watch theatergoers and invent plots from the posters, with Mary talking most at night and her mother most in the morning.
Themes in this chapter
Poverty and Survival
The struggle to light a fire without proper fuel, the use of paraffin oil, and the lack of basic furniture highlight the family's poverty and daily survival efforts.
Fantasy vs. Reality
Mrs. Makebelieve's elaborate plans for repapering, a Turkey carpet, and a piano contrast sharply with their actual impoverished conditions, while Mary imagines stories about ducks and flowers.
Mother-Daughter Relationship
The morning routine of sharing breakfast in bed and the division of talking time (mother in the morning, Mary at night) illustrate their close but economically strained bond.
Characters to notice
- Mary Makebelieve
Mary performs the morning chores, shares breakfast with her mother, spends time in the park observing ducks and eels, and walks through the city shops.
- Mrs. Makebelieve
Mrs. Makebelieve lies in bed until the last moment, talks incessantly about past and future plans, and joins Mary in the evenings to watch theatergoers.
Key passages
“Every morning about six o'clock Mary Makebelieve left her bed and lit the fire. It was an ugly fire to light, because the chimney had never been swept, and there was no draught.”
Each morning at around six, Mary got up and started the fire, which was difficult because the chimney was unswept and lacked airflow.
Illustrates the daily hardship of poverty.
“Her mother further arranged to have a Turkey carpet placed on the floor, although she admitted that oilcloth or linoleum was easier to clean, but they were not so nice to the feet or the eye.”
Her mother planned to get a Turkey carpet, acknowledging that oilcloth or linoleum was more practical but less pleasant.
Shows the mother's fantasy of improvement despite their real poverty.
“She knew every bird in the Park, those that had chickens, and those that had had chickens, and those that never had any chickens at all—these latter were usually drakes, and had reason on their side for an abstention which might otherwise have appeared remarkable”
Mary was familiar with all the park birds, including the drakes that never had ducklings, which she understood was natural.
Highlights Mary's imaginative and observant nature.