Character Analysis
Romance novelist by day, arch-nemesis by night, Phyllis Buckman is one tricky woman to understand. In fact, she confuses Flora a bunch with whether or not she likes Ulysses; even though her mom pretends to like her furry friend, Flora knows she wants Ulysses dead. Literally: "She was standing at the door, smiling and waving good-bye to them as if she weren't truly a murder-planning arch-nemesis" (25.4). No wonder Flora's confused.
We soon learn, though, that even though Phyllis is plotting to destroy Ulysses and life as he knows it, she's only doing so because she wants the best for her daughter. She's not after world domination or boatloads of money like most arch-nemeses; Phyllis just wants Flora to have some friends and not be so weird. Now we're not condoning kidnapping someone's squirrel or telling your kid your life would be easier without her, but we are saying that we think Phyllis's heart is in the right place. Or mostly, anyway.