| “ | Percy, tell Annabeth… Tell her she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that. | ” |
–Mrs. Chase talking to Percy Jackson in The Titan's Curse. | ||
Mrs. Chase is the stepmother of Annabeth Chase, the mortal wife of Frederick Chase and the mother of Matthew and Bobby Chase.
History[]
Annabeth, her step-daughter.
Mrs. Chase married Frederick Chase when his daughter, Annabeth, was five. She and Frederick had two sons, Matthew and Bobby. Because her step-daughter Annabeth was a demigod, the entire family was subjected to monster attacks and other unusual happenings.
When Annabeth was seven, she would get scared of the spiders and hide in her closet. They frightened her, resulting in Annabeth calling for her father. However, Mrs. Chase refused to allow Annabeth to distract Frederick from his work and elected to be the "bad cop" if it eventually helped her step-daughter to overcome her fear of spiders. She also became frustrated with Annabeth because her fears would scare her younger brothers at night. Annabeth would also get upset because the bite marks left by the spiders would fade before Mrs. Chase saw them, and the latter simply believed that the cobwebs left on Annabeth's eyelids were some kind of trick. This led to Mrs. Chase thinking it was all in Annabeth's head, even after two nights of the girl screaming.
The family was also attacked by monsters drawn to Annabeth's scent. Annabeth felt that her father and stepmother blamed her for this and ran away from home when she was seven. Despite Annabeth believing that Mrs. Chase disliked her, she in reality had no hostile feelings towards her step-daughter and was saddened by her departure, even asking Percy Jackson to tell Annabeth that she always had a home with them.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians[]
The Lightning Thief[]
Annabeth claims to Percy Jackson her family has rejected her and describes her stepmother as hostile and mean, blaming Annabeth for her tendency to attract monsters with her demigod aura. However, after talking to Percy, she decides to write to her father and give living in San Francisco a second chance. Mrs. Chase is seen, along with Annabeth's father and little brothers, silhouetted against the sky near Thalia's tree, waiting for Annabeth to join them.
The Titan's Curse[]
Mrs. Chase is at home when Percy, Thalia Grace, and Zoë Nightshade come seeking help. Percy, after all he had heard about them, is astonished to discover that Annabeth's father and stepmother are really nice and more than ready to help, not to mention worried about Annabeth herself. Mrs. Chase bakes cookies and other homemade delicacies, as well as keeping a comfortably tidy house, which strikes Percy as a good place to live in. She also stated that she liked to cook. Mrs. Chase even immediately agrees with her husband that lending the trio the family car is necessary to save Annabeth. As Percy is leaving, she calls him back and asks him to remind Annabeth that she still has a home with them. It is pretty clear that Annabeth had seriously misinterpreted her stepmother's behavior, reading fear and anger at the monster attacks as blame, probably because of her own feelings of guilt.
The Heroes of Olympus[]
The Mark of Athena[]
When Annabeth is at Fort Sumter, she enters a room to find a map, but the room quickly floods with spiders. The spiders bring back memories of how Mrs. Chase would become mad at her for screaming at night about spiders, scaring her brothers in the process. Mrs. Chase didn't believe that spiders were actually hurting Annabeth, as the bites would fade before she saw them. This eventually led to Annabeth's departure from her home to Camp Half-Blood.
Appearance[]
Not much of a description of Mrs. Chase's appearance is given, but Percy describes her as a pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun.[1]
Personality[]
Annabeth Chase initially claimed to Percy Jackson that her stepmother dislikes her and would blame her whenever a monster attacked; acting like Annabeth endangered their lives on purpose.
However in The Titan's Curse, when Mrs. Chase appears, she seems to be very kind and worried about her step-daughter. When Percy mentioned Annabeth, Mrs. Chase told the companions to ask if she wanted to come home.
It is possible that Annabeth, who was after all only seven, did not read her stepmother's reactions correctly or Mrs. Chase regrets her overly stern behavior and would like to make it up to Annabeth.
References[]
- ↑ The Titan's Curse, page 246