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The Man
The older woman is part of a family of bathers that have set up on the beach near the narrator. The narrator notes her pale skin and that she is overweight, with large breasts that have settled into a heap on the sand. She is lying on her side with her legs stacked atop each other. She stares at the man and laughs slowly and repetitively as he scoops sand into a pile onto her legs. At one point, he places a handful of sand in between her breasts, and she bursts into laughter with the rest of her group. Later, the narrator sees her stand in front of the man and “condescendingly” dump the sand from her bathing suit top. The narrator believes for a moment that the older woman herself has turned into sand. The entire scene horrifies the narrator.
The Older Woman Quotes in A Memory
The A Memory quotes below are all either spoken by The Older Woman or refer to The Older Woman. 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:
).
A Memory
Quotes
The man smiled, the way panting dogs seem to be smiling, and gazed about carelessly at them all and out over the water. He even looked at me, and included me. Looking back, stunned, I wished that they all were dead.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I felt a peak of horror, as though her breasts themselves had turned to sand, as though they were of no importance at all and she did not care.
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The Older Woman Quotes in A Memory
The A Memory quotes below are all either spoken by The Older Woman or refer to The Older Woman. 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:
).
A Memory
Quotes
The man smiled, the way panting dogs seem to be smiling, and gazed about carelessly at them all and out over the water. He even looked at me, and included me. Looking back, stunned, I wished that they all were dead.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I felt a peak of horror, as though her breasts themselves had turned to sand, as though they were of no importance at all and she did not care.
