Ramona the Brave

Beatrice Quimby is the classic older sibling who is orderly, tidy, responsible, and spends most of her time with her nose in a book. In the previous novels in the series, Beezus laments having a pesky younger sister for whom she is responsible and who often embarrasses her, but in Ramona the Brave, Cleary develops the sisters’ relationship into more of a friendship than a contentious sibling rivalry. Beezus emerges as a helpful ally for Ramona at key points in the narrative. While Ramona is learning about self-control and taking responsibility for her mistakes, Beezus is going through her coming-of-age struggles, like dealing with bullying from her peers and having a slight crush on her sixth-grade teacher Mr. Cardoza. Beezus plays a minor role in the narrative, but her influence on her sister’s development is significant.

As Ramona’s internal struggle progresses, Beezus becomes the yardstick by which she measures herself: “She heard Beezus take her bath, get into bed, and turn out her light without being told. That was the kind of girl Beezus was. Beezus would never get herself into the sort of mess Ramona faced” (107). Though the girls still bicker, none of their conflicts are serious or damaging, and Cleary provides startling moments of intimacy between the sisters as their emerging relationship takes shape. Before the sisters move to separate rooms, they take turns crafting ghost stories to distract themselves from the giant tarp-covered hole in the wall. When Ramona collapses under the guilt of crumpling Susan’s copycat owl, and Mrs. Quimby diminishes her anger, Beezus comes to her sister’s defense, saying, “‘But it does make a difference.’ Beezus spoke with the wisdom of a higher grade. ‘It makes a lot of difference’” (111). Beezus draws from her own experiences and, through her memories of her childhood struggles, develops empathy for her little sister. By the novel's end, Ramona has shed her desire to be like her big sister and embraces her unique personality and status as the youngest in the family. She no longer looks at her big sister as a rival for her parents’ love but instead as a companion and friend who understands what it is like to grow up in the world.

Dorothy Quimby is the assertive matriarch of the Quimby family and handles most of the parenting of her two daughters. Though Mr. Quimby takes a more active role in this novel than in the previous two in the series, the reader sees and hears Ramona’s mother instruct and correct her in the pivotal moments of the narrative. Though Ramona loves her mother, she thinks Mrs. Quimby loves Beezus more than her: “Mrs. Quimby felt her older daughter deserved all her attention” (20). Like many adults, Mrs. Quimby is often dismissive of Ramona’s concerns, although she does take the time to listen to her daughter when she is upset. It is Beezus that finally helps her mother recognize the validity of Ramona’s frustration and anger and sheds light on how parents can cause their children pain by diminishing or minimizing their feelings. Through the character of Dorothy Quimby, Cleary portrays a true-to-life experience of being a parent. Mrs. Quimby is a departure from the idealized parental characters of the past and instead exemplifies a real parent dealing with the day-to-day issues of parenting while balancing marriage and other adult responsibilities.

Mrs. Quimby serves as a wise leader for her daughters, but she also symbolizes the changing roles of women in the era in which Cleary is writing. Early in the narrative, Mrs. Cleary shocks her children by revealing she has taken a job outside the home. Beezus is thrilled at her mother’s liberation from her domestic duties, but Ramona expresses concern over who will care for her when she is sick and who will make cookies. Through Ramona’s internal dialogue, the reader sees a small glimpse of the financial struggles the Quimbys endure. Her parents have been careful to shield their daughters from most of the worry, but like most kids, Ramona is intuitive and can sense when her parents are stressed or anxious. The decision to send Mrs. Cleary into the workforce will strain the family dynamics, but like many women, Dorothy has carefully planned for childcare and other household necessities, ensuring everyone is cared for and fed in her absence. Though Ramona is unnerved by the change, it affects her little in this novel; however, Mrs. Quimby’s changing role in the household foreshadows other changes in the family to come later in the series. Ramona’s mother teaches her about adapting to change and adversity, two elements of life no one can escape.

Ramona’s father, barely visible in previous novels in the series, takes a more active role in Ramona the Brave, though Mrs. Quimby is still the more dominant parent. Still portrayed as the traditional patriarch, Mr. Quimby mainly exists outside the home as the primary breadwinner:

All she understood was that her father worked at something that sounded boring in an office downtown, and there was never quite enough money in the Quimby family. They were certainly not poor, but her parents worried a lot about taxes and college educations (39).

Now that she is older, Ramona understands more about her father’s position and the burdens he carries, but his career is still mostly a mystery to her. Ramona’s love and adoration of her father come not from his ability to generate income but from the sense of security and stability she feels in his presence.

As Ramona grows and matures, Cleary illustrates the development of her relationship with her father. Though he is not as physically present as her mother, Ramona still holds a special connection with him and is always content in his presence:

He could run fast for a man who was thirty-three years old, but Ramona always caught him and threw her arms around him. He was not a father to worry about a little brick dust on his clothes. The neighbors all said Ramona was her father’s girl. There was no doubt about that (50).

Like most families, children tend to take after one or the other parent in significant ways. Ramona often feels like an outsider in her family, but in conversing with her mother about her love of drawing, she learns that she shares the gift of artistic creativity with her father, who once drew cartoons. When Ramona begins to experience anxiety around being alone in her room in the dark, she attaches her fears to her father's absence. She lays in bed fighting exhaustion, waiting to hear him return home from work or bowling with his friends: “She longed for her father to come home […]” (131). After her emotional breakdown, it is her mother who physically comforts her, but when Ramona overhears her father singing about his “spunky gal,” his playful song inspires her to relinquish her fear of the dark and release her anxiety and worry. She is still thinking about the song the next morning as she happily skips to school, feeling lighter and more hopeful than ever. Mr. Quimby has not solved all his child’s problems nor given her unrealistic expectations for how life will go, but he has imbued her with his confidence in her spirit and his steadfast love, giving her the courage to face her life head-on without fear.