LitCharts (2024)

Joyce is the matriarch of the Chalfen family, and an acclaimed botanist and writer. She is the wife of Marcus and the mother of four sons: Joshua, Benjamin, Jack, and Oscar. Joyce writes about “gardens of diversity and interest,” recommending that gardeners use the process of cross-pollination to create more beautiful gardens. She is also fascinated by people of different cultures and ethnicities, notably Millat, who begins visiting her home after he, Irie, and Josh are caught smoking marijuana (their headmaster punishes them by enforcing visits with the Chalfens, whom he believes will be a good influence on the children). Joyce cares for Millat, but her concern is often misguided, since she believes that Millat needs to be “saved” from himself and from his “traumatic” upbringing; she also exhibits a noticeable lack of cultural sensitivity, frequently referring to inaccurate racial stereotypes.

The White Teeth quotes below are all either spoken by Joyce Chalfen or refer to Joyce Chalfen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).

The White Teeth quotes below are all either spoken by Joyce Chalfen or refer to Joyce Chalfen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).