Dolly is Willie’s youngest sister. She’s born when Willie is 11 years old, and their mother dies giving birth to her. As a result, Dolly grows up without a mother, but she receives loving attention from her father, Willie, and two older sisters. Dolly is sweet, affectionate, and innocent. She adores Willie and misses him while he’s away from home. As an adult, Dolly immigrates to America, taking some of Willie’s possessions with her as keepsakes.
Dolly Dunne Quotes in A Long Long Way
The A Long Long Way quotes below are all either spoken by Dolly Dunne or refer to Dolly Dunne. 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 10
Quotes
Willie’s mind now leaped to think, to remember, the tone of a child in a room in Dalkey singing to his mother, after the birth of his sister Dolly that killed her, […] “Ave Maria, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” and his mother’s face not listening and listening, and similarly now he sang for these ruined men.
Related Characters:Dolly Dunne, Willie’s Mother, William “Willie” Dunne
Related Symbols:“Ave Maria”
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
134
Explanation and Analysis:
As Willie sings the “Ave Maria” in a makeshift concert hall on the Western Front, he suddenly uncovers a long-buried memory about the hymn. Willie’s mind “leap[s]” to remember that he sang the hymn to his mother just after she died. All at once, Willie recalls that moment in detail, down to “the tone” of his childish voice. Thus, the “Ave Maria” connects Willie to the past and to his mother. When 11-year-old Willie sang the “Ave Maria” to his mother, he was expressing his love for her. Likewise, when 19-year-old Willie now sings the same hymn, he is filled Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. V
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The timeline below shows where the character Dolly Dunne appears in A Long Long Way. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
The year Willie turns 12, his mother dies giving birth to his youngest sister Dolly. Four years later, Willie’s family moves from their house in Dalkey into their new quarters...
(full context)
Chapter 2
...the army, his father weeps. Willie’s sisters Maud and Annie are excited for Willie, but Dolly cries when she hears that Willie is leaving. All her life, Willie has been the...
(full context)
Chapter 6
Willie’s father arrives with Dolly, who rushes to hug her brother. James Dunne calls his son a hero. Then he...
(full context)
Chapter 10
...long-forgotten memory. When he was a child and his mother died from giving birth to Dolly, Willie snuck into the room to see his mother. He sang the “Ave Maria” to...
(full context)
Chapter 16
When spring comes, Willie receives two letters. The first is a short, adoring message from Dolly, and the second is a postcard of a beach in Sligo from Annie. Willie almost...
(full context)
Chapter 18
...about such gruesome sights. He can’t imagine trying to describe what war is like to Dolly.
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Chapter 19
Willie returns home. Outside his family’s quarters in Dublin Castle, Dolly is playing with dolls that Willie suddenly remembers from his own childhood. Dolly doesn’t recognize...
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Chapter 20
...his furlough, Willie is about to board a train to leave Dublin when he hears Dolly calling out to him. Maud and Annie have taken her to the station to say...
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Chapter 23
...back along with Willie’s uniform, a porcelain horse figurine, and a Dostoevsky novel. Years later, Dolly emigrates to America and takes the Dostoevsky book with her. James Dunne goes mad and...
(full context)