Ramona and Her Mother

Ramona isn’t the only Quimby sister experiencing The Challenges of Growing Up and Seeking Independence. Beezus’s desire for a professional haircut to make her look like a professional ice skater, with “the hair that sort of floats when she twirls around and then falls into place when she stops” (128), evokes the image of Ramona making herself dizzy at the beginning of the novel and suggests that Beezus has grown frustrated with being steady and sensible. When she calls her mother “old-fashioned” and refuses the home haircut, Beezus wishes to separate herself from her family and their financial struggles; at the same time, it is hard for her mother not to see the rejection as personal. Seeing the tension between her mother and Beezus initially makes Ramona happy. However, she longs for a resolution when she realizes the disagreement creates more stress in her family. Indeed, the argument between Mrs. Quimby and Beezus reveals more than just Beezus’s teenage angst. It shows Mrs. Quimby at her most vulnerable when she confesses that she, too, is weary of being “sensible.” Beezus’s complaints mirror Mrs. Quimby’s plight of feeling stuck in a life that doesn’t match her aspirations. Mrs. Quimby remarks that she would enjoy sitting outside blowing on a dandelion; this is essentially her version of Beezus’s dream of a salon haircut. Similarly, Beezus is weary of Ramona’s overdramatic energy and expresses a familiar sibling complaint that Ramona never gets into trouble for her misbehavior, a comment that reveals that she envies Ramona’s seeming freedom. During Ramona’s tantrum in the final chapter, Beezus confesses that she often feels overshadowed by Ramona and longs for recognition for her individuality, not just for following the rules, another assertion of her need for independence. Both sisters vie for their mother’s attention to feel secure. However, Mrs. Quimby’s distant stare out the window in Chapter 5 reveals an exhausted mother and wife buried under responsibilities and stress.

The haircut saga reveals how mother-daughter relationships can become fraught. Conversely, while her mother cuts her bangs, Ramona feels the pull of The Bond Between Mothers and Daughters, enjoying a sense of physical closeness made all the more delicious since Beezus has eschewed it. In these moments, Ramona also “sees” her mother for the first time when she confesses her exhaustion with the practicalities of everyday life. Thinking about her mother’s beauty allows Ramona to see Mrs. Quimby as an individual, not just as her mother. The adventure at the hair salon bonds all three Quimby women, putting Ramona and Beezus back on even ground. Ramona’s new haircut gives her a fresh sense of independence and satisfies her need for attention from adults. When Beezus’s stylish hairstyle dreams are crushed, Mrs. Quimby and Ramona are empathetic. When Beezus’s hair returns to a style more appropriate for the seventh grade, Ramona and her mother share a further bond in that they “did not point out that [Beezus’s] new haircut did not look much different from the cuts her mother had given her” (150). In this, at least, Mrs. Quimby and Ramona share a closeness.

Ramona’s empathetic reactions to her parents and Beezus reflect the changes within her, but she still maintains a child’s sense of adventure and imagination. Ramona’s experience with her new pajamas encapsulates The Challenges of Growing Up and Seeking Independence. Wearing new pajamas that aren’t hand-me-downs from Beezus makes Ramona feel important, and she relishes her new clothes. However, just like the pajamas that are slightly too big, maturity hangs loosely on Ramona, too large and weighty for her still childlike frame and sensibility. Wearing the soft pajamas inspires Ramona’s imagination, and her imagination spirals. In the morning, she decides to be a firefighter. The narrator’s description of the decision process offers key insights into how Ramona’s mind works:

Suddenly she recalled seeing the kindergarten class in their red plastic fire hats trooping back from a visit to the fire station, which made her think of her own visit to the firehouse when she was in kindergarten and how she had loved her fire hat. […] She also recalled how astonished she had been to learn that firemen slept in their underwear so that they could jump out of bed and into their clothes if they were called out in the night. Of course, Ramona did not sleep in her underwear, but if she put her clothes on over her pajamas she could pretend to be a fireman anyway (157-58).

The narrator shows that Ramona’s decision, though it appears impulsive and childish, has a certain logic to it, even if that logic is known only to Ramona herself. Her mind works quickly, making idiosyncratic leaps and connections. The narrator articulates the process that Ramona cannot, taking her imagination seriously. That Mrs. Rudge responds sympathetically to Ramona’s discomfort later on reveals her to be an excellent—and ultimately trustworthy—figure. In this moment, Ramona at her most vulnerable as she admits to herself that it was foolish to wear pajamas to school and begs her teacher not to reveal her gaffe to her parents.

The final chapter shows the Quimby family harmoniously enjoying a Saturday at home and working together to complete the household chores. Ramona’s sudden realization that she left her pajamas at school breaks her reverie, sending her into an emotional spiral that crescendos into a tantrum. Ramona hears only part of her mother’s phone conversation, just as her understanding of her parents’ conversation about school had also been partial. Once again, the narrator demonstrates that Ramona is not irrational; in both cases, she does her best to process the information she does have, even if she ends up assuming the worst. The narrator’s attention to Ramona’s thought process exemplifies the theme of Building Resilient Families, showing that clear communication can help alleviate anxiety. Ramona’s explosion doesn’t come across as bratty but as a natural by-product of her age and her internal struggles brought about by the general sense of unease permeating the Quimby household. Just as her parents’ argument wasn’t just about a Crock-Pot, Ramona’s breakdown is more than just the pajamas. Mrs. Rudge’s phone call ends up being about Ramona’s facial tic, which began as a way to get her mother’s attention and has progressed to an outward manifestation of her internal anxiety.

Ramona’s decision to run away from home is the culmination of all of her unarticulated frustrations. The narrator again allows Ramona’s thoughts to unfold without judgment, even when she imagines living under a bench in the park—a manifestly unlikely outcome. Mrs. Quimby takes the same approach. Instead of dismissing her daughter’s concerns as trivial, Mrs. Quimby listens to Ramona’s protests. When Mrs. Quimby turns the tables and helps Ramona pack, the moment brings Ramona’s emotional turmoil over her relationship with her mother to its climax. However, once Ramona realizes Mrs. Quimby is overpacking and making it impossible for her to leave, she finally gets her mother’s validation and explicit declaration of love. As mother and daughter enter a new beginning in their relationship, the novel ends symbolically in spring, a time of rebirth and renewal. Though Mr. Quimby’s professional future is still uncertain, Ramona solidifies her bond with her mother, giving her a sense of security and hope, as evidenced by her donning her skates and skating off into the warmth of spring back into childhood bliss.