In Zindel's The Pigman, what is Lorraine's mother like?

Lorraine's
mother is a single mom who works fulltime as a hospice nurse. When Lorraine was little, her
mother had just gotten a divorce from her cheating husband when he was involved in a car crash
and died. Lorraine's mother was never the same after two personally traumatic events happened
within a short time period. Since then, she projects her fears and pain onto Lorraine by warning
her of the terrible things men do to women. Not only that, but Lorraine's mother makes her
daughter feel worthless and ugly. John doesn't like the way Lorraine's mother makes her feel and
describes the situation as follows:

"The way her old
lady talks you'd think Lorraine needed plastic surgery and seventeen body braces, but if you ask
me, all she needs is a little confidence" (19).

John's perspective suggests that Lorraine's mother makes her feel physically
unattractive. She also makes Lorraine feel untrustworthy because her mother has trust issues.
For example, when Lorraine buys her mother some nylons (with Mr. Pignati's money) she asks her a
couple of times where she got the money to buy nylons. Lorraine lies and tells her mother that
she saved her lunch money for them. She describes the scene about the nylons and her mother as
follows:

"She mulled that over a few seconds, but she
had to get to work on time and couldn't devote her full energies to interrogating. She always
makes me tell the same story over a week or so later to see if I slip up on any details"
(108).

Lorraine's mother has had a hard life and it shows
in her relationship with her daughter. She has learned not to trust anyone, she works hard, and
she does the best she can with what she has in life, but this makes it very difficult for
Lorraine to live with her.