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Augustus’s parents
The author of An Imperial Affliction, a novel Hazel becomes obsessed with. Hazel and Augustus believe that Van Houten can give them insight into what will happen to their families after they succumb to their cancers. Upon meeting Van Houten, Hazel and August learn that he is a nihilistic and aggressive alcoholic who treats them with cruelty when they visit. In the end, it is revealed that Van Houten has lost a child from cancer, and has fallen into alcoholism since her passing. His interactions with Hazel seem to imply that he may find a way out of his alcoholism and to write again.
Peter Van Houten Quotes in The Fault in Our Stars
The The Fault in Our Stars quotes below are all either spoken by Peter Van Houten or refer to Peter Van Houten. 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 7
Quotes
Everyone in this tale has a rock-solid hamartia: hers, that she is so sick; yours, that you are so well. Were she better or you sicker, then the stars would not be so terribly crossed, but it is the nature of stars to cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he had Cassius note, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/But in our selves.”
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Chapter 12
Quotes
Van Houten pursed his lips. “I regret that I cannot indulge your childish whims, but I refuse to pity you in the manner to which you are well accustomed.”
“I don’t want your pity,” I said.
“Like all sick children,” he answered dispassionately, “you say you don’t want pity but your very existence depends on it…sick children inevitably become arrested: You are fated to live out your days as the child you were before you were diagnosed, the child who believes there is life after a novel ends.”
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Peter Van Houten Quotes in The Fault in Our Stars
The The Fault in Our Stars quotes below are all either spoken by Peter Van Houten or refer to Peter Van Houten. 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 7
Quotes
Everyone in this tale has a rock-solid hamartia: hers, that she is so sick; yours, that you are so well. Were she better or you sicker, then the stars would not be so terribly crossed, but it is the nature of stars to cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he had Cassius note, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/But in our selves.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12
Quotes
Van Houten pursed his lips. “I regret that I cannot indulge your childish whims, but I refuse to pity you in the manner to which you are well accustomed.”
“I don’t want your pity,” I said.
“Like all sick children,” he answered dispassionately, “you say you don’t want pity but your very existence depends on it…sick children inevitably become arrested: You are fated to live out your days as the child you were before you were diagnosed, the child who believes there is life after a novel ends.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
