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Stella is Abel Jackson’s wife. She and Abel first meet and fall in love while Abel is at university. Stella is originally from the desert, but she loves the sea. Alongside Abel, she becomes a famous marine biologist. Stella is funny, kind, insightful, and decisive. She admires the close relationship Abel has with his mother, and she understands how important Longboat Bay is to Abel. Because she respects Abel’s connection to his home, Stella decides that she and Abel should stay in Longboat Bay to live, work, and care for their family.
Stella Quotes in Blueback
The Blueback quotes below are all either spoken by Stella or refer to Stella. 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 11
Quotes
“You two,” [Stella] said. “You seem to be able to talk to each other without saying anything.”
“Practice,” said Abel.
“It’s the fish in us,” said Dora Jackson. “We don’t always need words.”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12
Quotes
In time [Abel] became an expert, someone foreign governments invited for lectures and study tours, but inside he still felt like a boy with a snorkel staring at the strange world underwater, wishing he knew how it worked. Blueback still swam through his dreams.
Chapter 13
Quotes
“All these years I just wanted to know about the sea. I’ve been everywhere, I’ve studied, I’ve given lectures, become a bigshot. But you know, my mother is still the one who understands it […] She learnt by staying put, by watching and listening. Feeling things. She didn’t need a computer and two degrees and a frequent flyer program. She’s part of the bay. That’s how she knows it.”
Chapter 16
Quotes
Abel and Stella went back to being scientists […] But they never discovered the secret of the sea. Abel figured his mother knew all the secrets by now and his father before her. He guessed that Mad Macka might have a few ideas too and that his own time would come eventually. In the meantime he let the sea be itself.
But Blueback slipped in close to them, fins rippling. His scales shone. His tail fanned. He was the colour of all their dreams and he rested against the child, quivering with life.
Get the entire Blueback LitChart as a printable PDF.
Stella Quotes in Blueback
The Blueback quotes below are all either spoken by Stella or refer to Stella. 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 11
Quotes
“You two,” [Stella] said. “You seem to be able to talk to each other without saying anything.”
“Practice,” said Abel.
“It’s the fish in us,” said Dora Jackson. “We don’t always need words.”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12
Quotes
In time [Abel] became an expert, someone foreign governments invited for lectures and study tours, but inside he still felt like a boy with a snorkel staring at the strange world underwater, wishing he knew how it worked. Blueback still swam through his dreams.
Chapter 13
Quotes
“All these years I just wanted to know about the sea. I’ve been everywhere, I’ve studied, I’ve given lectures, become a bigshot. But you know, my mother is still the one who understands it […] She learnt by staying put, by watching and listening. Feeling things. She didn’t need a computer and two degrees and a frequent flyer program. She’s part of the bay. That’s how she knows it.”
Chapter 16
Quotes
Abel and Stella went back to being scientists […] But they never discovered the secret of the sea. Abel figured his mother knew all the secrets by now and his father before her. He guessed that Mad Macka might have a few ideas too and that his own time would come eventually. In the meantime he let the sea be itself.
But Blueback slipped in close to them, fins rippling. His scales shone. His tail fanned. He was the colour of all their dreams and he rested against the child, quivering with life.
