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Mrs. Pratchett
Mr. Coombes is the Headmaster of the Llandaff Cathedral School. Roald remembers him as a tall, intimidating figure, a description that underscores his power and authority over the small children in his care. After Mrs. Pratchett points out Roald and his friends to Mr. Coombes, the Headmaster beats the boys with a cane. Mr. Coombes refuses to allow the boys to speak in their own defense, taking Mrs. Pratchett entirely at her word. As he beats the boys, Mrs. Pratchett yells at him to hit them harder, and Roald believes that her goading inspires him to punish them more cruelly for her enjoyment. Mr. Coombes’s behavior in this incident underlines the injustice and perversity of corporal punishment and establishes Roald’s distrust of authority.
Mr. Coombes Quotes in Boy
The Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Coombes or refer to Mr. Coombes. 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:
).
6. Mrs Pratchett’s Revenge
Quotes
Mr. Coombes stood back and took up a firm stance with his legs well apart. I thought how small Thwaites’s bottom looked and how very tight it was. Mr. Coombes had his eyes focused squarely upon it. He raised his cane high above his shoulder, and as he brought it down, it made a loud swishing sound, and then there was a crack like a pistol shot as it struck Thwaites’s bottom.
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About an hour later, my mother returned and came upstairs to kiss us all goodnight.
‘I wish you hadn’t done that,’ I said to her. ‘It makes me look silly.’
‘They don’t beat small children like that where I come from,’ she said. ‘I won’t allow it.’
‘What did Mr. Coombes say to you, Mama?’
‘He told me that I was a foreigner and I didn’t understand how British schools were run,’ she said.
‘Did he get ratty with you?’
‘Very ratty,’ she said. ‘He told me that if I didn’t like his methods I could take you away.’
‘What did you say?’
‘I said I would, as soon as the school year is finished. I shall find you an English school this time,’ she said. ‘Your father was right. English schools are the best in the world.’
12. The Matron
Quotes
And the Matron, as we all knew, would follow after him and stand at the top of the stairs listening with a funny look on her face for the crack… crack… crack of the cane that would soon be coming up from below. To me that noise always sounded as though the Headmaster was firing a pistol at the ceiling of his study.
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Mr. Coombes Quotes in Boy
The Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Coombes or refer to Mr. Coombes. 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:
).
6. Mrs Pratchett’s Revenge
Quotes
Mr. Coombes stood back and took up a firm stance with his legs well apart. I thought how small Thwaites’s bottom looked and how very tight it was. Mr. Coombes had his eyes focused squarely upon it. He raised his cane high above his shoulder, and as he brought it down, it made a loud swishing sound, and then there was a crack like a pistol shot as it struck Thwaites’s bottom.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
About an hour later, my mother returned and came upstairs to kiss us all goodnight.
‘I wish you hadn’t done that,’ I said to her. ‘It makes me look silly.’
‘They don’t beat small children like that where I come from,’ she said. ‘I won’t allow it.’
‘What did Mr. Coombes say to you, Mama?’
‘He told me that I was a foreigner and I didn’t understand how British schools were run,’ she said.
‘Did he get ratty with you?’
‘Very ratty,’ she said. ‘He told me that if I didn’t like his methods I could take you away.’
‘What did you say?’
‘I said I would, as soon as the school year is finished. I shall find you an English school this time,’ she said. ‘Your father was right. English schools are the best in the world.’
12. The Matron
Quotes
And the Matron, as we all knew, would follow after him and stand at the top of the stairs listening with a funny look on her face for the crack… crack… crack of the cane that would soon be coming up from below. To me that noise always sounded as though the Headmaster was firing a pistol at the ceiling of his study.
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