Mother Summary

Elizabeth Willard, George Willard's mother, looks older than her age, and she is not happy with her life in the deteriorating New Willard House, owned by her husband Tom Willard. Tom in turn is angered and depressed by the deterioration of both his wife and hotel, which he thinks of as ghosts, "things defeated and done for." The leading Democrat in a strong Republican community, Tom dreams of the tide of thought turning in his favor and raising him up. Meanwhile, he feels the ghosts of failure - his wife and business - following him out into the streets.

Elizabeth and George silently empathize with each other, but their communication is outwardly formal. She sees in him the possibility of fulfilling her own dreams from her younger years, and she even vows to come back from the dead if he turns into "a...