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Sister Leopolda
Lulu and Nector’s son and brother to Gerry and Henry, Jr. Lyman is the product of Lulu and Nector’s longstanding affair, but Lulu never tells Nector that Lyman is his son. Still, both Lyman and Nector suspect the truth, although they never meet as father and son. Lyman and his brother, Henry, Jr. are the first to own a convertible on the reservation, and after Henry, Jr. returns home from Vietnam a scarred and broken man, Lyman uses the car as an excuse to get close to him. Lyman trashes the car—he rips the muffler from the undercarriage and wrecks the tail pipe—and then he and Henry spend time together, fixing the car and talking. Lyman is with Henry, Jr. when he walks into the Red River and drowns, but he tells Lulu that Henry, Jr. died in an accident to save her from the pain of his suicide. Lyman finally asks Lulu about his father after Nector’s death, but Lyman ultimately decides it doesn’t matter who his father is. Like the rest of the Lamartine boys, Lyman serves to highlight the incredible connection between brothers and family, even a nontraditional family like Lulu’s.
Lyman Lamartine Quotes in Love Medicine
The Love Medicine quotes below are all either spoken by Lyman Lamartine or refer to Lyman Lamartine. 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:
).
The Red Convertible
Quotes
One night Henry was off somewhere. I took myself a hammer. I went out to that car and 1 did a number on its underside. Whacked it up. Bent the tail pipe double. Ripped the muffler loose. By the time 1 was done with the car it looked worse than any typical Indian car that has been driven all its life on reservation roads, which they always say are like government promises—full of holes. It just about hurt me. I’ll tell you that! I threw dirt in the carburetor and I ripped all the electric tape off the seats. I made it look just as beat-up as I could. Then I sat back and waited for Henry to find it.
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Lyman Lamartine Quotes in Love Medicine
The Love Medicine quotes below are all either spoken by Lyman Lamartine or refer to Lyman Lamartine. 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:
).
The Red Convertible
Quotes
One night Henry was off somewhere. I took myself a hammer. I went out to that car and 1 did a number on its underside. Whacked it up. Bent the tail pipe double. Ripped the muffler loose. By the time 1 was done with the car it looked worse than any typical Indian car that has been driven all its life on reservation roads, which they always say are like government promises—full of holes. It just about hurt me. I’ll tell you that! I threw dirt in the carburetor and I ripped all the electric tape off the seats. I made it look just as beat-up as I could. Then I sat back and waited for Henry to find it.
Related Characters:
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
