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The Phoenix
– Lord Strawberry is an English nobleman and collector of rare birds, which he keeps in his private aviary. His aviary is spacious and he cares for his birds quite well. In general, Lord Strawberry is described as a benevolent and compassionate lover of nature and birds, a goodhearted man who dies penniless because he spends all of his considerable wealth giving his birds a good life. Nonetheless, Lord Strawberry is also a representation of British imperialism. As an explorer and collector, he travels to “Arabia” to capture a rare phoenix, which he brings back to Britain. While he’s good to the phoenix, he treats the bird as though it were his to claim, and he has no qualms about removing a rare treasure from the place where it lives. Furthermore, his actions set the phoenix up for exploitation: while Lord Strawberry’s own motives may have been relatively benevolent, after his death, the phoenix is sold to Mr. Poldero who tortures and abuses the bird. The phoenix would never have had to endure this had Lord Strawberry left the bird in its natural habitat.
Lord Strawberry Quotes in The Phoenix
The The Phoenix quotes below are all either spoken by Lord Strawberry or refer to Lord Strawberry. 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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The Phoenix
Quotes
Finally Lord Strawberry went himself to Arabia, where, after some months, he found a phoenix, won its confidence, caught it, and brought it home in perfect condition.
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Explanation and Analysis:
On its arrival in England it made a greatest stir among ornithologists, journalists, poets, and milliners, and was constantly visited. But it was not puffed by these attentions, and when it was no longer in the news, and the visits fell off, it showed no pique or rancour.
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It costs a great deal of money to keep up an aviary. When Lord Strawberry died he died penniless.
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Lord Strawberry Character Timeline in The Phoenix
The timeline below shows where the character Lord Strawberry appears in The Phoenix. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Phoenix
Lord Strawberry , a British nobleman, is a bird collector with the best aviary in Europe. It’s...
(full context)
While many bird experts have insisted that phoenixes are mythical or extinct, Lord Strawberry believes that they exist. Every once in a while, someone tries to sell him one,...
(full context)
Lord Strawberry returns to England with the phoenix, which is a lovely bird. It’s charming, friendly, and...
(full context)
After some time, Lord Strawberry dies—but he dies penniless due to the great cost of his aviary. To settle his...
(full context)
