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Lottie Drieser
The daughter of Lottie and Telford, Arlene is first introduced as a prissy and silly young girl, her wealthy parents’ only child. After the Depression hits Manawaka, though, Arlene takes up with John. The two become lovers, relieved that the class distinctions that once separated them from one another have been all but erased by the leveling force of the Great Depression. Arlene toughens up but remains somewhat flighty and idealistic, dreaming of marrying and sharing a life with John despite the fact that they’re both destitute and aimless. Hagar, seeing her own past mistakes in the one that she believes John and Arlene are about to make, severs the union before it can be cemented, leading John and Arlene to act out and put themselves in danger. Arlene and John are both killed in a terrible car accident, and the loss shakes Hagar and the Simmons family to their cores.
Arlene Simmons Quotes in The Stone Angel
The The Stone Angel quotes below are all either spoken by Arlene Simmons or refer to Arlene Simmons. 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 6
Quotes
John put an arm around the girl’s shoulders, smearing her white pique dress.
“See you around, eh?” he said, and we left, he whistling and I bewildered.
“You could have been a little more polite,” I reproached him when we were out of earshot. “Not that I was much impressed with her. But still and all—”
“Polite!” He snorted with laughter. “That’s not what she wants from me.”
“What does she want—to marry you?”
“Marry? By Christ, no. She’d never marry a Shipley. It tickles her to neck with one, that’s all.”
“Don’t talk like that,” I snapped. “Don’t ever let me hear you speak like that again, John. In any case, she’s not the sort of girl for you. She’s bold and—”
“Bold? Her? She’s a rabbit, a little furry rabbit.”
“You like her, then?”
“Are you kidding? I’d lay her if I got the chance, that’s all.”
“You’re talking just like your father,” I said. “The same coarse way. I wish you wouldn’t. You’re not a bit like him.”
‘That’s where you’re wrong,” John said.
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Arlene Simmons Quotes in The Stone Angel
The The Stone Angel quotes below are all either spoken by Arlene Simmons or refer to Arlene Simmons. 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 6
Quotes
John put an arm around the girl’s shoulders, smearing her white pique dress.
“See you around, eh?” he said, and we left, he whistling and I bewildered.
“You could have been a little more polite,” I reproached him when we were out of earshot. “Not that I was much impressed with her. But still and all—”
“Polite!” He snorted with laughter. “That’s not what she wants from me.”
“What does she want—to marry you?”
“Marry? By Christ, no. She’d never marry a Shipley. It tickles her to neck with one, that’s all.”
“Don’t talk like that,” I snapped. “Don’t ever let me hear you speak like that again, John. In any case, she’s not the sort of girl for you. She’s bold and—”
“Bold? Her? She’s a rabbit, a little furry rabbit.”
“You like her, then?”
“Are you kidding? I’d lay her if I got the chance, that’s all.”
“You’re talking just like your father,” I said. “The same coarse way. I wish you wouldn’t. You’re not a bit like him.”
‘That’s where you’re wrong,” John said.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
