How would you describe Lena Younger in the play a raisin in the sun?

Answer 1

Lena Younger, from Lorraine Hansbury's A Raisin in the Sun, is also known as "Mama" and serves as a matronly figure to all of the characters in the household. She is generally patient and wise and places most of her attention and value on family, children, and dreams. Her personal dream is to have a garden of her own, and has maintained this dream to a lesser degree in the little plant that she keeps in the window of the Younger's apartment. Physically she is described as "in her early sixties, full-bodied and strong," with "a certain grace and beauty," which she wears "so unobtrusively that it takes a while to notice." Lena Younger is very strong and has been through a lot, including the death of her husband, which enabled the Younger family to come into a large amount of money at the beginning of the play. She is noble and soft-voiced, but prone to anger when provoked or when the dreams of her or her family have been threatened. She loves her children and her grandchild dearly.