Fiona
Marcus’ mother suffers from a persistent depression after the split between her and Marcus’ father, Clive. She is seen to have been through multiple unsuccessful relationships and, when we arrive in narration, she is at rock bottom emotionally, using the picnic arranged by the single parents group to attempt suicide with sleeping pills.
She is shown to be a generally unfit mother mainly because of her emotional state but she becomes self aware in the conclusive climax and is shown to heal mentally when Marcus loses the need to rely upon her solely. Without knowing, the sacrifice of Marcus’ dependence saved her from her self-inflicted end.
Quotes
‘That was his mother. When she wasn’t crying over the breakfast cereal, she was laughing about killing herself’
‘Fiona had lost a big chunk of Marcus, and she got to stay away from the casualty ward’
‘When it came down to it, he just wasn’t that engaged. You had to be engaged to be a vegetarian; you had to be engaged to sing ‘Both Sides Now’ with your eyes closed; when it came down to it, you had to be engaged to be a mother’