Who is Alma Foster from Welcome to the Monkey House and what is their importance?

Alma is Herbert's unsuspecting wife. She is a plain woman, wearing housecoats made of the same material as her curtains. She knows how to live frugally, and she admires her husband for supporting his family respectably. She does hope for more, however—she tells the narrator she'd hoped Foster's grandfather would leave them some money, and she would like to have a television. Alma believes her husband is doing all he can to keep the family afloat. Alma is the one who tells the narrator about Foster's mother, father and grandfather and sheds some light on Foster's desire to be a respectable, responsible family man. She also expresses a disgust for Foster's father and his jazz music.