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James Patrick Dunne (Willie’s Father)
Gretta Lawlor is the love of Willie Dunne’s life. She and her father, Mr. Lawlor, live in a slum tenement under Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. When she first meets Willie, Gretta is only 13 years old. Despite her younger age, Gretta is more mature and pragmatic than Willie is. She disapproves of his choice to go away to war, and she bluntly refuses to marry him until the war is over. Nevertheless, Gretta does return Willie’s affection, and she wants to be his wife. While Willie fights on the Western Front, Gretta works long, exhausting hours as a seamstress. In 1916, she receives a letter from an anonymous soldier informing her that Willie has slept with a sex worker in Amiens. Gretta is heartbroken by the news of Willie’s unfaithfulness. She marries someone else and has a child with her new husband. However, Gretta bears no ill will against Willie. When she sees him again in 1917, she expresses regret that they couldn’t have a future together, and she wishes Willie well.
Gretta Lawlor Quotes in A Long Long Way
The A Long Long Way quotes below are all either spoken by Gretta Lawlor or refer to Gretta Lawlor. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 22
Quotes
He closed his eyes and Gretta’s face slowly filtered in. All the ache and murder of the last years just for a moment ceased—ceased to write itself in the history of his addled blood. He hung suspended, beautifully aloft, somewhere, he knew not where, with Gretta’s face, her breast, her arms about him. He was surprised by the soft silence, as if his brain had been a noisy place lately.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Gretta Lawlor Quotes in A Long Long Way
The A Long Long Way quotes below are all either spoken by Gretta Lawlor or refer to Gretta Lawlor. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 22
Quotes
He closed his eyes and Gretta’s face slowly filtered in. All the ache and murder of the last years just for a moment ceased—ceased to write itself in the history of his addled blood. He hung suspended, beautifully aloft, somewhere, he knew not where, with Gretta’s face, her breast, her arms about him. He was surprised by the soft silence, as if his brain had been a noisy place lately.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
