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Honoria Wales
Marion Peters is Charlie’s sister-in-law, and the legal guardian of his daughter Honoria. She despises Charlie, seeing him as an irresponsible alcoholic who not only made Helen unhappy in life but who also bears responsibility for her death. Although her thinly-concealed resentment of Charlie causes her to act bitterly toward him and makes her a deeply unsympathetic character, Marion holds the power to decide whether to allow Charlie to take Honoria back to Prague with him, and in this way she also acts as the moral judge of Charlie, evaluating whether or not he has really changed. Marion’s resentment of Charlie stems not only from his treatment of her sister, but also from his wealth and the lifestyle it allows him to lead, which she sees as an injustice because her own family struggles to get by. At the end of the story, when Lorraine Quarrles and Duncan Schaeffer barge into the Peters family’s home, the intrusion causes Marion to fall suddenly ill, suggesting that she has a nervous condition that worsens in stressful situations—and around Charlie in particular.
Marion Peters Quotes in Babylon Revisited
The Babylon Revisited quotes below are all either spoken by Marion Peters or refer to Marion Peters . 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:
).
Section 3
Quotes
As I told you, I haven't had more than a drink a day for over a year, and I take that drink deliberately, so that the idea of alcohol won't get too big in my imagination. You see the idea?"
"No," said Marion succinctly.
"It's a sort of stunt I set myself. It keeps the matter in proportion."
"I get you," said Lincoln. "You don't want to admit it's got any attraction for you."
"Something like that. Sometimes I forget and don't take it. But I try to take it.”
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"I don't blame Marion," Charlie said slowly, "but I think she can have entire confidence in me. I had a good record up to three years ago. Of course, it's within human possibilities I might go wrong any time. But if we wait much longer I'll lose Honoria's childhood and my chance for a home." He shook his head, "I'll simply lose her, don't you see?"
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Marion shuddered suddenly; part of her saw that Charlie's feet were planted on the earth now, and her own maternal feeling recognized the naturalness of his desire; but she had lived for a long time with a prejudice—a prejudice founded on a curious disbelief in her sister's happiness, and which, in the shock of one terrible night, had turned to hatred for him. It had all happened at a point in her life where the discouragement of ill health and adverse circumstances made it necessary for her to believe in tangible villainy and a tangible villain.
"I can't help what I think!" she cried out suddenly. "How much you were responsible for Helen's death, I don't know. It's something you'll have to square with your own conscience."
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Marion Peters Quotes in Babylon Revisited
The Babylon Revisited quotes below are all either spoken by Marion Peters or refer to Marion Peters . 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:
).
Section 3
Quotes
As I told you, I haven't had more than a drink a day for over a year, and I take that drink deliberately, so that the idea of alcohol won't get too big in my imagination. You see the idea?"
"No," said Marion succinctly.
"It's a sort of stunt I set myself. It keeps the matter in proportion."
"I get you," said Lincoln. "You don't want to admit it's got any attraction for you."
"Something like that. Sometimes I forget and don't take it. But I try to take it.”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
"I don't blame Marion," Charlie said slowly, "but I think she can have entire confidence in me. I had a good record up to three years ago. Of course, it's within human possibilities I might go wrong any time. But if we wait much longer I'll lose Honoria's childhood and my chance for a home." He shook his head, "I'll simply lose her, don't you see?"
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Marion shuddered suddenly; part of her saw that Charlie's feet were planted on the earth now, and her own maternal feeling recognized the naturalness of his desire; but she had lived for a long time with a prejudice—a prejudice founded on a curious disbelief in her sister's happiness, and which, in the shock of one terrible night, had turned to hatred for him. It had all happened at a point in her life where the discouragement of ill health and adverse circumstances made it necessary for her to believe in tangible villainy and a tangible villain.
"I can't help what I think!" she cried out suddenly. "How much you were responsible for Helen's death, I don't know. It's something you'll have to square with your own conscience."
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