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Hazel
In “Red Peter’s Little Lady,” Evelyn is Herr Oberndorff’s wife; Red Peter refers to her as Evelyn, while Hazel refers to her as Frau Oberndorff. She’s a German woman who has been put in charge of Hazel’s training because her husband has been sent to fight in World War I. Evelyn is initially very formal in her letters to Peter and focuses on keeping him updated about Hazel’s progress (Hazel, a chimp, is being trained to become human so she can become Peter’s wife). Though she often finds Hazel’s words crude or shocking, Evelyn feels it’s her duty to transcribe Hazel’s letters accurately. Peter, however, implies in his letters that he and Evelyn were lovers years ago, when Peter still lived at Herr Oberndorff’s zoo. He constantly reminds her of their love for each other and the good times they had. As the story progresses and Germany begins to experience mass famine due to World War I, Evelyn’s tone shifts. She keeps Peter apprised of whether or how well she and her children are eating and managing, and she seems more open to his advances. Around the time that Evelyn learns her husband died, she and Peter reconnect in person for the first time since Peter left the zoo. This is in part because the man in charge of the zoo, Herr Hagenbeck, escaped to Africa to avoid the war—it was his idea to train Hazel for Peter, and with him gone, Peter doesn’t think he has to follow through with the marriage anymore. However, Evelyn seems to steel herself over the course of several letters before imprisoning Peter in his cage. She plans to eat him after fattening him up.
Frau Evelyn Oberndorff Quotes in Only the Animals
The Only the Animals quotes below are all either spoken by Frau Evelyn Oberndorff or refer to Frau Evelyn Oberndorff. 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:
).
Red Peter’s Little Lady: Soul of Chimpanzee
Quotes
I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you, before I was fully human, and from across that gulf of understanding and experience, somehow, miraculously, you felt something for me in return. You alone inspired me to become human, not your husband’s relentless mazes and sorting tasks and word repetitions, not his tantrums when I didn’t do what he wanted, not the whipping, not the sweet fruit he dangled just out of my reach. I wanted to be human so that I might reach out across that chasm and touch you, be touched by you.
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Frau Oberndorff gave me a pet cricket. The cricket lives in a walnut shell. If you hold him up and look at him directly, he looks fierce. The man who brought the cricket to the zoo said he would win battles against other crickets if we first chop up a fly and feed it to him to make him violent.
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Frau Evelyn Oberndorff Quotes in Only the Animals
The Only the Animals quotes below are all either spoken by Frau Evelyn Oberndorff or refer to Frau Evelyn Oberndorff. 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:
).
Red Peter’s Little Lady: Soul of Chimpanzee
Quotes
I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you, before I was fully human, and from across that gulf of understanding and experience, somehow, miraculously, you felt something for me in return. You alone inspired me to become human, not your husband’s relentless mazes and sorting tasks and word repetitions, not his tantrums when I didn’t do what he wanted, not the whipping, not the sweet fruit he dangled just out of my reach. I wanted to be human so that I might reach out across that chasm and touch you, be touched by you.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Frau Oberndorff gave me a pet cricket. The cricket lives in a walnut shell. If you hold him up and look at him directly, he looks fierce. The man who brought the cricket to the zoo said he would win battles against other crickets if we first chop up a fly and feed it to him to make him violent.
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