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Betty is Miss Lonelyhearts’s fiancée. Although Miss Lonelyhearts proposed to Betty two months prior to the beginning of the novella and has ignored her since, Betty does her best to care for him and support him through his mounting stress. However, Betty isn’t able to understand the full extent of Miss Lonelyhearts’s emotional turmoil. For example, while she invites him away to her family’s farm so that he can get out of the city, Betty doesn’t like when Miss Lonelyhearts speaks about work or the letters he receives. Much like the other women with whom Miss Lonelyhearts pursues sexual relationships, Betty begins to confide in him about her past, adding to Miss Lonelyhearts’s notion that suffering is inescapable and all around him. Although Miss Lonelyhearts calls Betty “Betty the Buddha” and associates her with orderliness, he ultimately realizes that their relationship will not save him from his troubles and selfishly decides to stop communicating with her again. By the end of the novella, Betty confesses to Miss Lonelyhearts that she has become pregnant from their time together in the countryside, and he proposes to her, without meaning what he says.
Betty Quotes in Miss Lonelyhearts
The Miss Lonelyhearts quotes below are all either spoken by Betty or refer to Betty. 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 4
Quotes
“Betty the Buddha,” he said. “Betty the Buddha. You have the smug smile; all you need is the pot belly.”
His voice was so full of hatred that he himself was surprised. He fidgeted for a while in silence. […] More than two months had passed since he had sat with her on this same couch and had asked her to marry him.
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Chapter 6
Quotes
“My good friend, your accusation hurts me to the quick. You spiritual lovers think that you alone suffer. But you are mistaken. Although my love is of the flesh flashy, I too suffer. It’s suffering that drives me into the arms of the Miss Farkises of this world. Yes, I suffer.”
Chapter 8
Quotes
He was too tired to be annoyed by her wide-eyed little mother act and let her feed him with a spoon. When he had finished eating, she opened the window and freshened the bed. As soon as the room was in order, she started to leave, but he called her back.
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Chapter 9
Quotes
He blew her a kiss. She caught it with a gesture that was childishly sexual. He vaulted the porch rail and ran to kiss her. As they went down, he smelled a mixture of sweat, soap and crushed grass.
Chapter 10
Quotes
Crowds of people moved through the street with a dream-like violence. As he looked at their broken hands and torn mouths he was overwhelmed by the desire to help them, and because this desire was sincere, he was happy despite the feeling of guilt which accompanied it.
Chapter 14
Quotes
He begged the party dress to marry him, saying all the things it expected to hear, all the things that went with strawberry sodas and farms in Connecticut. He was just what the party dress wanted him to be: simple and sweet, whimsical and poetic, a trifle collegiate yet very masculine.
Get the entire Miss Lonelyhearts LitChart as a printable PDF.
Betty Quotes in Miss Lonelyhearts
The Miss Lonelyhearts quotes below are all either spoken by Betty or refer to Betty. 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 4
Quotes
“Betty the Buddha,” he said. “Betty the Buddha. You have the smug smile; all you need is the pot belly.”
His voice was so full of hatred that he himself was surprised. He fidgeted for a while in silence. […] More than two months had passed since he had sat with her on this same couch and had asked her to marry him.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
“My good friend, your accusation hurts me to the quick. You spiritual lovers think that you alone suffer. But you are mistaken. Although my love is of the flesh flashy, I too suffer. It’s suffering that drives me into the arms of the Miss Farkises of this world. Yes, I suffer.”
Chapter 8
Quotes
He was too tired to be annoyed by her wide-eyed little mother act and let her feed him with a spoon. When he had finished eating, she opened the window and freshened the bed. As soon as the room was in order, she started to leave, but he called her back.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9
Quotes
He blew her a kiss. She caught it with a gesture that was childishly sexual. He vaulted the porch rail and ran to kiss her. As they went down, he smelled a mixture of sweat, soap and crushed grass.
Chapter 10
Quotes
Crowds of people moved through the street with a dream-like violence. As he looked at their broken hands and torn mouths he was overwhelmed by the desire to help them, and because this desire was sincere, he was happy despite the feeling of guilt which accompanied it.
Chapter 14
Quotes
He begged the party dress to marry him, saying all the things it expected to hear, all the things that went with strawberry sodas and farms in Connecticut. He was just what the party dress wanted him to be: simple and sweet, whimsical and poetic, a trifle collegiate yet very masculine.
