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The Sheriff and Deputy
Theophilus is Candace’s partner; the two are rumored to be half-siblings or even biological siblings. Their children are Rabbit, Millie, Camper, and Duke. Theophilus defies traditional gender expectations by gathering berries as an honorary member of the island’s women, even wearing his mother’s dress. At the end, he and Candace lose custody of their own children because a committee deems them “feebleminded,” and they witness the sheriff and deputy accidentally kill Rabbit. Although unconventional, they are nevertheless tragic figures who help illustrate the violence of eugenics-inspired government policies.
Theophilus Lark Quotes in This Other Eden
The This Other Eden quotes below are all either spoken by Theophilus Lark or refer to Theophilus Lark. 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:
).
Part 1
Quotes
So Theophilus poked around the shack and brooded over the pile of sleeping children like a mother robin, wearing the dress and shopkeeper’s apron, and whenever any islander passed by he paused at his aimless chores or rose from the chair outside the door and came to the edge of the dirt yard and wrung his hands in an old red rag he took from the apron’s front pocket, nodded at the passerby and said, What lack ye, Mr. Diamond? What lack ye, Eha Honey? To the children he asked, What lack ye, my little salted cods? What lack ye, my little oysters?
Candace Lark never liked housekeeping and was no good at it anyway. A particular squalor surrounded the Larks’ shack when she had been in charge of domestic order. Much of that had been due to the children, who arrived one after another for eight years, counting the five that didn’t live. But even considering mothering and scant means and the necessity of staying home while Theophilus fished, Candace lacked instinct for tending her kids and shack.
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Get the entire This Other Eden LitChart as a printable PDF.
Theophilus Lark Quotes in This Other Eden
The This Other Eden quotes below are all either spoken by Theophilus Lark or refer to Theophilus Lark. 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:
).
Part 1
Quotes
So Theophilus poked around the shack and brooded over the pile of sleeping children like a mother robin, wearing the dress and shopkeeper’s apron, and whenever any islander passed by he paused at his aimless chores or rose from the chair outside the door and came to the edge of the dirt yard and wrung his hands in an old red rag he took from the apron’s front pocket, nodded at the passerby and said, What lack ye, Mr. Diamond? What lack ye, Eha Honey? To the children he asked, What lack ye, my little salted cods? What lack ye, my little oysters?
Candace Lark never liked housekeeping and was no good at it anyway. A particular squalor surrounded the Larks’ shack when she had been in charge of domestic order. Much of that had been due to the children, who arrived one after another for eight years, counting the five that didn’t live. But even considering mothering and scant means and the necessity of staying home while Theophilus fished, Candace lacked instinct for tending her kids and shack.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
