Character Analysis
Mae Holland's parents are sweet, kind, and supportive. In fact, they're so even-keeled that it's hard not to imagine them stepping out of a suburban sitcom from the 1950s—one where the height of comedy would be harmless and amusingly mundane mix-ups and the height of tension would be the occasional spat about supper or bills.
Now, Mr. and Mrs. Holland weren't always so centered. Mae has vivid memories of a turbulent childhood home where financial stress made her mother's temper particularly short (1.9.6), for example. Luckily for Mae, her parents made some changes to their employment situations as she was heading into middle school, and they eventually got to the point at which each month wasn't a nail-bitingly tense effort to make ends meet:
It was as if they went, in the course of a year, from being young parents in over their heads to grandparents, slow-moving and warm and clueless about what exactly their daughter wanted. (1.9.6)
Although Mae's parents are still "slow-moving and warm and clueless," recent years have brought a new level of stress and complication to their lives. Mae's father has multiple sclerosis, and his life has become more difficult than it ever was before. Mae's mother's life has been changed by her husband's illness, too, as she's now his primary caretaker and, when necessary, the person on the front lines of battles with insurance providers.
Mr. and Mrs. Holland are thrilled when their daughter lands a job at the Circle, and they're astounded and humbled when Mae announces that they've been added to the company's medical plan. Overnight, it seems as if their struggles have finally come to an end, and it makes them so proud to know that they have their daughter to thank.
Unfortunately for the Hollands, being added to the Circle's company plan turns out to mean that their troubles have only begun. As the Circle makes more and more demands on their personal lives, and as Mae herself increases their workload by expecting them to respond—speedily and with gratitude—to the thousands of people worldwide who are sending them emails, "zings," "smiles," and other messages to support them in their time of need, Mr. and Mrs. Holland start to feel as if they're living in the Twilight Zone.
After Mae stumbles in on her parents getting hot and heavy together in their bedroom—and, thanks to the video camera that she wears around her neck, broadcasts them doing the nasty to millions of viewers worldwide—Mr. and Mrs. Holland sever ties with their daughter.
They don't want to interact with Mae unless they can do it privately, but since Mae now believes fervently and zealously that privacy is basically a crime, they're not likely to get any one-on-one with her anytime soon.