Mary-Ann Ronan (July 8, 1964 - March 1, 2005) was the mother of Alyson Ronan and Tyler Ronan. During the game, Alyson and Tyler return to their family house and begin to question their relationship with her, as well as the implications of her actions the night she died.
Description[]
Appearance[]
Mary- Ann had brown hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. She is frequently seen wearing the yellow raincoat she wore on the night of her death.
Personality[]
Mary- Ann is portrayed as a complex character in the series, and the twins seek to uncover her true motives and find out more about their past.
The consensus among many of the townsfolk is that Mary-Ann was a genuine person who was passionate about eco-friendly living. Many people who knew her stated that she was not the kind of person that they would expect to see murder her children, or discriminate against people who were "different". This causes uncertainty among the twins, who had initially believed that their mother tried to murder Tyler due to his transgender identity.
Mary-Ann would not allow her children to have a TV in the house, openly becoming annoyed by Tyler watching "Star Wars" at his friend's house. Instead, she would bring home a stack of books rather than let them watch TV. The twins had a somewhat sheltered upbringing, mentioning that their mother often scared people away. She was simultaneously very kind and very harsh with the twins, often promising them things one day and ignoring them the next.
Mary- Ann also had a vivid imagination that brought her closer to her children. She invented many characters featured in the Book of Goblins, including the Mad Hunter, and was depicted as the runaway 'Wise Princess' in the Book. Mary- Ann used the Book of Goblins as a way to cope with her own trauma— her strained relationship with her mother gave rise to the “Gold Lady”; her toxic relationship with Tom Vecchi became the “Mad Hunter”; and, most notably, writing the story of the Wise Princess and her Crown helped Mary- Ann cope with the death of her infant son Leo.
In the months leading up to March 2005, Mary- Ann became increasingly withdrawn and forgetful, at one point forgetting an entire stack of books at a restaurant. She frequently ignored the twins and despaired to Tessa about them keeping secrets from her, and completely broke down after Tyler broke one of her vases.
Mary-Ann may have had mental health issues like schizophrenia and depression, but there is no conclusive evidence of either at the moment. She was assigned medication, but was too stubborn to take it.
Biography[]
Mary-Ann was raised by her wealthy, highly controlling parents. Mary-Ann’s mother, referred to only as “The Golden Lady”, forced Mary-Ann to win trophies for ballet and study engineering in college (despite Mary-Ann’s desire to do visual arts). The Golden Lady convinced Mary-Ann’s college boyfriend to leave her.
Eventually, Mary-Ann decided to run away from her parents and moved to a commune in the 1980s-90s. She lived in the commune until 1992, when she learned she was pregnant and decided to move to Delos Crossing. Before moving the Delos Crossing, Mary-Ann worked at a watchmaker‘s shop.
Mary-Ann made friends in Delos Crossing, namely Carol Brown and Sam Kansky, and gave birth to a baby boy she named Leo. Mary-Ann lived happily with Leo for a time, despite being extremely protective of him and almost reliant on him for her own stability. One day, during a rough storm, Mary-Ann lay with Leo through the night to protect him.
One morning, Mary-Ann awoke to find Leo dead. Nothing was amiss, nothing was broken, he had died during the night. Mary-Ann spent the day inconsolably holding her son, and buried him under a tree that night.
In 1993, Mary-Ann found that she was pregnant again, this time thanks to an ongoing affair with Tom Vecchi. On March 7, 1994, she gave birth to twins. Mary- Ann was extremely protective of her children and didn’t allow them to do normal childhood activities like watch TV or go to school.
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In October 2004, when the twins were ten, Mary-Ann stopped paying her debts to Tessa Vecchi, when before then she always payed in full.
At some point around this time, Mary-Ann stole and read Tyler’s diary. She learned that he identified as male and began looking into how to raise her transgender son. Mary- Ann told Tessa about Tyler’s identity, causing massive friction between the two as Tessa recommended that she send Tyler to a religious camp for conversion therapy. This led to Mary-Ann avoiding contact with Tessa, including paying back the outstanding loan money.
Mary- Ann, Tyler, and Alyson went on a trip to Juneau in 2005. Mary-Ann bought books for the twins, but went to a restaurant and forgot about them, possibly after drinking.
In February, Mary-Ann had several appointments planned (presumed by the twins to be hair-dressing clients, as she sometimes did this job to bring in extra money) which were cancelled off. The decline in her mental health was becoming more apparent at this point, with people commenting that she was distant and that they did not see her in the last few months she was alive. She was in debt and had very little money. The Book of Goblins suggests that the twins relied on food from Eddy Brown, Tessa, and Sam and were still hungry all the time.
On the last day of February 2005, Eddy told Mary-Ann that Tessa had contacted CPS and reported her. Mary-Ann was immediately terrified of her worst fear coming true, being separated from her children.
On the night of March 1 2005, Mary-Ann and the twins had an odd night. Tyler recalls that she told a new story; a weird one. The story, titled "The Princess's Loss" details the princess's love for and the loss of her tiara, a story Mary- Ann wrote about Leo. Tyler and Alyson were too young to understand and told their mother that the story was depressing. Mary-Ann promised to never read it again.
Later in the evening, Mary-Ann went into the shed and began working to load a shotgun. It is unclear what she was doing at the time, but she was muttering to herself and acting in a distressed fashion. She had clearly been crying and was very much on edge. Tyler walked in on her, revealing the new short haircut Mary-Ann had previously denied him. Mary-Ann turned around, pointing the gun at him, saying "No, no no, this is wrong!" Tyler, believing that his haircut distressed Mary-Ann, immediately ran away, with Mary-Ann calling after him.
Out at the dock Tyler was eventually cornered by Mary-Ann. The twins must decide who to trust at this moment, their own memories of Mary-Ann pointing the gun at Tyler and telling him she would kill him, or Tom Vecchi’s memories of Mary-Ann telling Tyler that she wasn’t going to hurt him. This decision will determine how the twins interpret Mary-Ann’s actions that night. If they choose to trust their own memories, Alyson and Tyler will believe that Mary-Ann was planning on murdering them and then killing herself. If they choose to believe Tom’s memories, Alyson and Tyler will believe that Mary-Ann was planning on killing herself.
Mary-Ann was stabbed by Alyson with a pair of scissors and fell into the lake, where she drowned. Autopsy also revealed she had alcohol in her system.
Relationships[]
Alyson[]
As a child, Alyson was wary of her mother, especially in the last months of her life. Alyson would often get in trouble thanks to Tyler's actions, so she slowly began to resent the punishments Mary-Ann would give them for misbehaving. Alyson was somewhat of a "suck-up" and would pander to her mother more than Tyler would.
Alyson's relationship with Mary-Ann in present day is very different from her brother's. She is clearly resentful of her mother's behaviour the night of her death; had Mary-Ann been mentally stable and openly communicative with her children about her issues, Alyson would not have had to stab Mary- Ann that night. Alyson is now filled with guilt, believing that she killed her mother and having Tyler take the blame on her behalf. Alyson is clearly agitated when talking about Mary-Ann throughout Chapter 1, and is reluctant to go inside her bedroom, or relive positive memories of the woman. She also brings up that she feels they were watched closely as children; she becomes disgusted by the family photographs taken by her, and appalled by the painting that Mary-Ann did of the twins playing outside. Alyson has little closure with their relationship, and has not moved on from her past.
Tyler[]
Tyler's relationship with Mary-Ann was strained when he was a child. This was due to his standoffish nature and rebellion against Mary-Ann's restrictions on his lifestyle. She refused to let him cut his hair or join the local hockey team. Tyler felt that the denial of these simple things was a denial of his masculinity, and felt like Mary- Ann was preventing him from living as his authentic self. Tyler and his mother had several negative interactions about this, and the day of her death Tyler suspected her of stealing his diary. Mary-Ann uses feminine pronouns and emphasizes that she wanted to "keep her little girl safe" and would do anything to do so. When reliving the memory, Tyler initially interprets this as her confessing that she would rather harm him than have him transition.
As an adult, Tyler has had time to come to terms with what he believes happened on the night of his mother's death, but is still seeking closure about why his mother wanted to kill him that night. Tyler's memories of the house they grew up in seem to be mostly positive in comparison to Alyson’s, and he is much more comfortable in the house. Tyler becomes angry upon finding his stolen diary in Mary-Ann's room as it confirms she did take it and knew about his desire to transition. A guide for raising transgender children and a pamphlet for a conversion therapy camp bring Tyler's suspicions about Mary- Ann forward.
After speaking with Tessa and learning that she was the one responsible for the pamphlet, things change for Tyler. He begins to explore the likelihood that Mary- Ann knew about and wanted to support his transition.
Tessa[]
Tessa Vecchi was Mary-Ann’s former best friend and confidante. The two had differing opinions about raising the twins, with Mary-Ann frequently being 'preached to' due to Tessa's religious beliefs. They had a mutually beneficial relationship, as Mary-Ann would often play card games of Canasta with Tessa at the general store. Tessa was generous with Mary-Ann and was incredibly fond of the twins, but was still keeping note of the little debts Mary-Ann incurred over the course of their friendship. Loans for gas money, food and home repairs were taken out over the years they knew one another.
During the last few months of Mary-Ann's life, their relationship shifted drastically as Tessa advised that Tyler be sent to a youth camp for conversion therapy. Her religious belief and recommendations made Mary-Ann defensive of her children and she cut ties with Tessa completely; including failing to pay debts owed for several of her small loans.
Sam[]
Sam was a helpful presence in Mary-Ann's life, and the two were close friends. After her death, Sam admits Mary-Ann was a "special lady" who didn't deserve what she got. This could be in reference to her lot in life (if he knew anything about her unfortunate past) or her murder.
Sam helped Mary-Ann with many of her home repairs, and was a supportive person in her life. Looking at her photo, he clearly harbours some feelings for her that were likely unrequited. Sam drinks regularly, partially over his broken relationship with his ex-wife and partially due to his grief over Mary-Ann.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
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Characters in Tell Me Why
| |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Characters | |||||||
| Alyson Ronan • Tyler Ronan | |||||||
| Supporting Characters | |||||||
| Michael Abila • Mary-Ann Ronan • Eddy Brown • Tessa Vecchi • Tom Vecchi • Sam Kansky | |||||||
| Minor Characters | |||||||
| Alexander Gershwin • Tina West • Joshua Greggs • Denise Wilson • Helena Torrez • Christian Holt • Kendra Harris-Guidry • Leo Ronan | |||||||