Do you think Quinn's early loss of his mother contributes to his growing affection for Ona?

Throughout the book Quinn makes several references to his mother, who died young. Do you think this early loss contributes to Quinn's growing affection for Ona and if so, in what way?

I absolutely think his loss of his mother at an early age had a lot to do with his actions towards Belle and "the boy" as well as his growing affection for Ona. But I actually felt it had more to do with his inability to show love...he was pretty isolated after his mother died and music was his solace, not people. Probably his growing affection for Ona came with a connection to and respect for his son. What "the boy" accomplished with Ona definitely affected Quinn's connection to her.

I believe that his growing affection for Ona was because of his son. Because of being with Ona he learned more about his son and began to love him.

Yes, I think Ona was a "mother image" for Quinn, but I feel that the motivating factor in his growing affection for Ona was Quinn's way of getting to know his son through Ona since the boy and Ona had shared such a unique relationship. Getting to know Ona enabled him to get to know and love the son he never felt he knew enough to really love.

Maybe in some ways he saw Ona as a mother figure. I think Quinn felt a lot of guilt that he wasn't present more in the boy's life and that he didn't understand him like he should have. Ona didn't judge him as she herself revealed her own flaws as a mother. She preferred Frankie over Randall. She never did have a bond with Laurentas despite his coming to see her in his late 40's. She does reflect that Laurentas "Would have loved me." She stated she loved the children she raised, although Frankie was clearly her favorite. Ona listened to Quinn and wasn't overly judgemental. She did help him to see what a wonderful boy he did have. I think Ona understood the guilt Quinn felt. Their affection for each other grew with their friendship and with time. Quinn didn't have many close friends he could talk to about his son. Belle was moving on with her life. Ona was that friend who listened to him. It helped that Ona loved his son and developed her own friendship with the boy.

Maybe not so much a mother figure but a reminder of what family could be like. The lose of his mother and the issues with his father created a lot of hardship for Quinn. With Ona, and her bond to the boy, I think he created his own family of sorts.