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Prior to the start of the novel, Juliet wrote columns and a book under the pseudonym Izzy Bickerstaff. As the novel opens, she admits that the book she's working on—a book that would also be the work of Izzy—isn't going to happen; Izzy is no longer an interesting character for Juliet. Because of this, Izzy Bickerstaff comes to represent an old version of Juliet, while her decision to write under her real name and not use Izzy symbolizes Juliet's process of coming into herself. Because of this, it's telling that Mark mentions that he's interested in Juliet because of her work under Izzy's name—it shows that he doesn't truly love Juliet, he loves a fake version of her instead. Juliet's final decision to cast off Mark then completes her process of casting off Izzy and that identity, and instead, becoming fully herself.
Izzy Bickerstaff Quotes in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society quotes below all refer to the symbol of Izzy Bickerstaff. 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:
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Part 1: 8 Jan, 1946
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I don't want to be considered a light-hearted journalist anymore. I do acknowledge that making readers laugh—or at least chuckle—during the war was no mean feat, but I don't want to do it anymore. I can't seem to dredge up any sense of proportion or balance these days, and God knows one can't write humor without them.
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Part 1: Feb 5, 1946
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The simple truth of it is that you're the only female writer who makes me laugh. Your Izzy Bickerstaff columns were the wittiest work to come out of the war, and I want to meet the woman who wrote them.
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Izzy Bickerstaff Symbol Timeline in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The timeline below shows where the symbol Izzy Bickerstaff appears in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part One, 8th January, 1946
...write it anymore. She says that she no longer wants to write under the name Izzy Bickerstaff because she longs to be taken seriously. She thinks she did a great thing by...
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Part One, 26th January, 1946
...her to write three articles for their literary supplement under Juliet's real name, not as Izzy Bickerstaff .
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Part One, 3rd February, 1946
...he'd tell her more about the Society. She tells him about writing under the name Izzy Bickerstaff during the war and says that now, she'd like to write a book under her...
(full context)
Part One, February 5, 1946
...to try to arrange some way to meet Juliet a party. He explains that the Izzy Bickerstaff columns were the only things written by women that made him laugh during the war,...
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Part One, 20th April, 1946
...chickens. When the war broke out, the Spectator hired her to write the columns " Izzy Bickerstaff Goes to War." Sophie married Alexander and had her son, Dominic. Juliet says she does...
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