Previous
Uncle Peter / the Man
Barbara, who is one year older than Stephen, lives in house No. 6 on the Close. Younger Stephen considers her to be annoying and typically “girlish.” She is often said to be wearing her school frock and purse “made of bobbly blue leather and closed with a shiny blue popper.” She shows interest in Stephen by frequently appearing at his and Keith’s secret hiding place and revealing certain gossip about the people in the Close. Although Stephen constantly expresses his frustration towards her, he hints at a mutual interest in her. Stephen and Barbara smoke cigarettes together in the lookout and they eventually kiss each other. In essence, Barbara marks a kind of estrangement of Stephen from Keith, and introduces Stephen to a different and more adult life.
Barbara Berrill Quotes in Spies
The Spies quotes below are all either spoken by Barbara Berrill or refer to Barbara Berrill. 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 3
Quotes
She just is his mother, in the same way that Mrs. Sheldon's Mrs. Sheldon, and Barbara Berrill's beneath our notice, and my family’s slightly disgraceful. Everyone knows that these things are so. They don't have to be
explained or justified.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8
Quotes
Lamorna. I find the word on my tongue over and over again, saying itself of its own accord. Lamorna is the softness of Barbara Berrill's dress as she leaned across me to look in the trunk. Lamorna is the correct scientific description of the contrast between the bobbly texture of her purse and the smooth shininess of its button. Lamorna is the indoor-firework smell of the match, and its two shining reflections in her eyes. But Lamorna is also the name of the softness in Keith's mother's voice…
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Spies LitChart as a printable PDF.
Barbara Berrill Quotes in Spies
The Spies quotes below are all either spoken by Barbara Berrill or refer to Barbara Berrill. 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 3
Quotes
She just is his mother, in the same way that Mrs. Sheldon's Mrs. Sheldon, and Barbara Berrill's beneath our notice, and my family’s slightly disgraceful. Everyone knows that these things are so. They don't have to be
explained or justified.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8
Quotes
Lamorna. I find the word on my tongue over and over again, saying itself of its own accord. Lamorna is the softness of Barbara Berrill's dress as she leaned across me to look in the trunk. Lamorna is the correct scientific description of the contrast between the bobbly texture of her purse and the smooth shininess of its button. Lamorna is the indoor-firework smell of the match, and its two shining reflections in her eyes. But Lamorna is also the name of the softness in Keith's mother's voice…
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
