Alma Wheatley? She’s a lonely housewife whose husband is never there and who’s got many flaws. Alma considers Beth as an adopted daughter and an indispensable friend.
Alma is sometimes hasty and facetious, but she is also a good advisor for Beth. In the beginning, she never thinks believe that Beth, as a woman, should one day work for her living. And she also thinks that she will never play chess.
She only thinks about getting Beth a beautiful dress, but when Beth shows her chess skills, Alma boosts her enthusiastically. She tells Beth that no one is born with intuition, and that Beth’s skills cannot be learned from her readings