Previous
Hortense Bowden
Captain Charlie Durham is a British colonist posted to Jamaica in the early 20th century, where he meets Ambrosia Bowden, the daughter of his landlady. He impregnates Ambrosia, who later gives birth to their daughter Clara. After the Kingston earthquake of 1907, he attempts to marry Ambrosia, but she rebuffs him.
Captain Charlie Durham Quotes in White Teeth
The White Teeth quotes below are all either spoken by Captain Charlie Durham or refer to Captain Charlie Durham. 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 13
Quotes
As the months flicked by. Ambrosia learned a lot of wonderful things from the handsome captain. He taught her how to read the trials of Job and study the warnings of Revelation, to swing a cricket bat, to sing “Jerusalem.” How to add up a column of numbers. How to decline a Latin noun. How to kiss a man’s ear until he wept like a child. But mostly he taught her that she was no longer a maidservant, that her education had elevated her, that in her heart she was a lady, though her daily chores remained unchanged. In here, in here, he liked to say, pointing to somewhere beneath her breastbone, the exact spot, in fact, where she routinely rested her broom. A maid no more. Ambrosia, a maid no more, he liked to say, enjoying the pun.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire White Teeth LitChart as a printable PDF.
Captain Charlie Durham Quotes in White Teeth
The White Teeth quotes below are all either spoken by Captain Charlie Durham or refer to Captain Charlie Durham. 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 13
Quotes
As the months flicked by. Ambrosia learned a lot of wonderful things from the handsome captain. He taught her how to read the trials of Job and study the warnings of Revelation, to swing a cricket bat, to sing “Jerusalem.” How to add up a column of numbers. How to decline a Latin noun. How to kiss a man’s ear until he wept like a child. But mostly he taught her that she was no longer a maidservant, that her education had elevated her, that in her heart she was a lady, though her daily chores remained unchanged. In here, in here, he liked to say, pointing to somewhere beneath her breastbone, the exact spot, in fact, where she routinely rested her broom. A maid no more. Ambrosia, a maid no more, he liked to say, enjoying the pun.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
