What do you think made Mrs. Jones so good in "Thank You M'am"?

Mrs. Jones is kind to Roger because she has had some hard life experiences.

Mrs. Jones is a special kind of woman.  You can tell this because instead of having Roger arrested, or running away from him, she takes him home and takes care of him.  Mrs. Jones is one of the only people in Roger’s life to show him she cares, and she is a perfect stranger.

Throughout the course of the night, Mrs....

Mrs. Jones is kind to Roger because she has had some hard life experiences.

Mrs. Jones is a special kind of woman.  You can tell this because instead of having Roger arrested, or running away from him, she takes him home and takes care of him.  Mrs. Jones is one of the only people in Roger’s life to show him she cares, and she is a perfect stranger.

Throughout the course of the night, Mrs. Jones does not tell Roger much about herself.  For instance, we do not know where Mr. Jones is.  She lives in a boarding house, presumably alone.  Also, did she have kids?  She certainly has maternal instincts.  Yet we get hints about her past.

The woman was sitting on the day-bed. After a while she said, “I were young once and I wanted things I could not get.”

This seems to indicate that Mrs. Jones has some events in her past that make her sympathize with Roger.  Although she tells him that she won’t say she never stole, she also mentions God and tells him that He will know everything he does.  Clearly Mrs. Jones found religion at some point in her life.

Mrs. Jones also looks to Roger’s future, giving him money for shoes and telling him to behave himself.

“Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto my pocketbook nor nobody else’s—because shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet. I got to get my rest now. But I wish you would behave yourself, son, from here on in.”

This again makes her seem maternal.  It implies that she won’t see him again, but that she wants a good future for him.  She wants to have made an impact on his life.  She mentioned before that contact with her will last.  Clearly, she hopes it will also make an impression.