The Glass Castle Alcoholism

The last half of the Glass Castle provided more information into Jeannette's paternal grandparents, Erma and Ted. When the family arrives at the grandparent's house, Erma said “Nice of you to let me see my grandchildren before I die” (p. 130, Para 3). As you continue to read it is self-evident that Erma did not care for her grandchildren, so it is unclear what she meant by it. Jeannette's father Rex had a brother named Stanley. The alcoholism that Rex had was also prevalent in both Erma and Stanley. “You could smell the whiskey on his breath….” (p. 131, Para 2). “Erma pulled a bottle of whiskey from the pocket of her house dress….” (p. 131, Para 4). Drinking was not the only pattern; poverty and abuse are also evident. There were

"Brian's a man, he can take it, he said. I don't want to hear another word of this. Do you hear me? (p.148, para 1). Perhaps, conversely it was easier for Rex to be kept in denial than to face the truth about his family. It provided less of an effort to pretend nothing ever happened, then try and make sense of the senseless.
Jeannette’s mother, Rose Mary is another story altogether; there is very little about what her parents were like. There was the time when the kids found the diamond ring and the mother refused to sell it, even though Jeannette had to point out that they could buy some food. "That’s true, Mom said, but it could also improve my self esteem. And at times like these, self esteem is even more vital than food" (p. 186, para 2). Ordinarily, supporting your family so that they eat and live better would be a way to help self-esteem, however Rose Mary did not see it that way. Consequently, when she did have a job, on numerous occasions she couldn't bring herself to roll out of bed. It could be that the mother had some form of mental illness. "Mom rarely got angry. She was usually either singing or crying…." (p. 219, para