Pol is Billie Jo’s mother. Billie Jo describes her as being “long and skinny, with poor teeth, and dark hair always needing a wash.” Although Hesse does not reveal Pol’s past, Billie Jo implies that her mother sacrificed a great deal to live in the Dust Bowl with Bayard. She is an accomplished pianist and taught Billie Jo how to play the piano at the age of five. As Bayard’s wife, she adapts. She understands and accepts her husband’s uncommunicative nature and the conditions that accompany living in the Dust Bowl.
Pol is stoic—restrained and unflappable. When Billie Jo tells her that she has received the highest grade in the state on the eighth-grade standardized test, Pol’s response is, “I knew you could.” Billie Jo knows her mother is pleased about her accomplishment, but Pol doesn’t show it the way other mothers do. Pol is also stubborn and proud. In spite of the constant dust storms, she works hard to keep her house clean. She scrub floors, beats the furniture and rugs, and washes clothes over and over again without seeming to tire of the repetitious, hard work. She grows two apple trees in the front yard, in the midst of the drought, and understands that crops besides wheat will have to be grown in order for the farm—and the family—to survive.
Pol suffers horribly after being burned when Billie Jo throws the burning kerosene out the door and accidentally onto her. She dies after giving birth to a baby boy, who also dies days later. They are buried together on the farm.
