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Michael
Michael’s mother, and the person who—along with her brother, Leon—cares for Deming when Polly disappears. Vivian is a devoted parent who spends the majority of her free time cooking meals and providing for Michael and Leon. When Polly and Deming move in, she becomes friends with Polly, though unlike Vivian, Polly resents having to do so much work to care for other people. When Polly disappears, Vivian and Leon don’t know what has happened, but they keep what little information they do have from Deming, simply telling him that Polly isn’t in danger and that everything will be fine. However, when Leon decides to return to China months after Polly’s disappearance, Vivian isn’t able to provide for Deming, so she takes him to social services and puts him into the foster system. Michael later finds out that she went to court shortly after this and approved of Deming’s placement with Peter and Kay Wilkinson. After this, Vivian marries a man named Timothy and moves to Brooklyn. When Michael gets in touch with Deming (who now goes by Daniel) and invites him to dinner, Vivian is overjoyed to see him. Daniel, on the other hand, resents her for putting him into the foster care system. Insisting that she had no choice, Vivian reveals to him that she paid off the large amount of debt that Polly left behind after she was taken by immigration authorities. She also gives him Leon’s number, which helps him find Polly in China.
Vivian Quotes in The Leavers
The The Leavers quotes below are all either spoken by Vivian or refer to Vivian. 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 1
Quotes
If he hadn’t gotten detention—if he had left school at the usual time—if he hadn’t resisted Florida—if he’d intercepted the fight she had with Leon—she would still be here. Like a detective inspecting the same five seconds of surveillance video, he replayed last Wednesday afternoon, walking the blocks from school to home.
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Chapter 10
Quotes
Once I might have become this woman, free to move across the country because she heard a city was beautiful. Instead I had become a woman like Vivian, watching TV, cooking for you and Leon, making sure the dumplings were fried and not steamed, unsure if I should marry my boyfriend but not wanting to lose him either. An uneasiness settled into me. This October would be followed by another winter, another spring, until it was time for October again.
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Chapter 19
Quotes
Everyone had stories they told themselves to get through the days. Like Vivian’s belief that she had helped [Deming], his mother insisting she had looked for him, that she could forget about him because he was okay.
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Vivian Quotes in The Leavers
The The Leavers quotes below are all either spoken by Vivian or refer to Vivian. 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 1
Quotes
If he hadn’t gotten detention—if he had left school at the usual time—if he hadn’t resisted Florida—if he’d intercepted the fight she had with Leon—she would still be here. Like a detective inspecting the same five seconds of surveillance video, he replayed last Wednesday afternoon, walking the blocks from school to home.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10
Quotes
Once I might have become this woman, free to move across the country because she heard a city was beautiful. Instead I had become a woman like Vivian, watching TV, cooking for you and Leon, making sure the dumplings were fried and not steamed, unsure if I should marry my boyfriend but not wanting to lose him either. An uneasiness settled into me. This October would be followed by another winter, another spring, until it was time for October again.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19
Quotes
Everyone had stories they told themselves to get through the days. Like Vivian’s belief that she had helped [Deming], his mother insisting she had looked for him, that she could forget about him because he was okay.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
