Beautiful Boy

by

David Sheff

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Beautiful Boy makes teaching easy.

Karen Barbour Character Analysis

Karen is David’s second wife, Nic’s stepmother, and Jasper and Daisy’s mother. Karen and David marry when Nic is seven years old. She is an artist, and she and Nic share a deep bond over activities like art and speaking French. Karen loves Nic and worries about him as his addiction grows worse; she attends visiting days and group sessions with David when Nic is in rehab and sees a therapist with David as well. Gradually, however, Karen becomes exasperated with Nic’s addiction and with David’s obsessive worry over Nic. She also grows angry over David’s rationalizations of some of the ways in which Nic terrorizes the family, like forging checks or breaking into their home. The more harm Nic does, the more Karen becomes afraid of Nic. Once, when he drives by the house during a period of relapse, Karen gets in her car to chase him. When she returns, she realizes that she didn’t want to catch him—rather, she wanted to drive him away from Jasper and Daisy. Karen serves as another example of how addicts can ruin their relationships with the people they love most. When Nic is in recovery for year-long periods, however, they are able to repair their relationship to a degree.

Karen Barbour Quotes in Beautiful Boy

The Beautiful Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Karen Barbour or refer to Karen Barbour. 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:
Addiction, Ruin, and Redemption Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

I look at the three of them and recall a bewildering emotion that I recognized for the first time back when Nic was born. Along with the joy of parenthood, with every child comes a piercing vulnerability. It is at once sublime and terrifying.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Page Number: 65
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

He says that one of the most difficult things about having a child addicted to drugs is that we cannot control it. We cannot save Nic. “You can support his recovery but you can’t do it for him,” he says. “We try to save them. Parents try. It’s what parents do.”

He tells us Al-Anon’s Three Cs: “You didn’t cause it, you can’t control it, you can’t cure it.”

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour
Page Number: 132
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

It’s a tricky illness. Yes, people do have choices about what to do about it. It’s the same with an illness like diabetes. A diabetic can choose to monitor his insulin levels and take his medication; an addict can choose to treat his disease through recovery. In both cases, if they don’t treat their illnesses, they worsen and the person can die.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour
Page Number: 150
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

“I felt the same way about my son until I realized that he couldn’t get to school or work or a therapy appointment but he could get to pawn shops, get to his dealers, get whatever drug he wanted, get alcohol, break into houses, get needles—whatever was required. […] I felt so sorry for him, thinking, He’s depressed. He’s fragile. He’s incapable. Of course I should pay his bill if he winds up in the hospital. Of course I should pay his rent or he’ll be on the streets. So for about a year I paid for a comfortable place for him to get high.”

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour
Page Number: 159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

I have learned that I am all but irrelevant to Nic’s survival. It took my near death, however, to comprehend that his fate—and Jasper’s and Daisy’s—is separate from mine. I can try to protect my children, to help and guide them, and I can love them, but I cannot save them. Nic, Jasper, and Daisy will live, and someday they will die, with or without me.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Page Number: 255
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

The phone, when it rings, brings on the same state of panic. I am always worried that there is news of another crisis. Or it’s Nic, and I don’t know if he will be sane or high. Or it won’t be him, and I’ll be disappointed. My body tenses up. Oftentimes during meals or when we’re hanging around in the evening, I let the phone ring until the answering service picks it up, because I don’t want to deal with whatever might be coming. I think that everyone feels tension.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Related Symbols: The Phone
Page Number: 293
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Beautiful Boy LitChart as a printable PDF.
Beautiful Boy PDF

Karen Barbour Quotes in Beautiful Boy

The Beautiful Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Karen Barbour or refer to Karen Barbour. 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:
Addiction, Ruin, and Redemption Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

I look at the three of them and recall a bewildering emotion that I recognized for the first time back when Nic was born. Along with the joy of parenthood, with every child comes a piercing vulnerability. It is at once sublime and terrifying.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Page Number: 65
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

He says that one of the most difficult things about having a child addicted to drugs is that we cannot control it. We cannot save Nic. “You can support his recovery but you can’t do it for him,” he says. “We try to save them. Parents try. It’s what parents do.”

He tells us Al-Anon’s Three Cs: “You didn’t cause it, you can’t control it, you can’t cure it.”

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour
Page Number: 132
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

It’s a tricky illness. Yes, people do have choices about what to do about it. It’s the same with an illness like diabetes. A diabetic can choose to monitor his insulin levels and take his medication; an addict can choose to treat his disease through recovery. In both cases, if they don’t treat their illnesses, they worsen and the person can die.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour
Page Number: 150
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

“I felt the same way about my son until I realized that he couldn’t get to school or work or a therapy appointment but he could get to pawn shops, get to his dealers, get whatever drug he wanted, get alcohol, break into houses, get needles—whatever was required. […] I felt so sorry for him, thinking, He’s depressed. He’s fragile. He’s incapable. Of course I should pay his bill if he winds up in the hospital. Of course I should pay his rent or he’ll be on the streets. So for about a year I paid for a comfortable place for him to get high.”

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour
Page Number: 159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

I have learned that I am all but irrelevant to Nic’s survival. It took my near death, however, to comprehend that his fate—and Jasper’s and Daisy’s—is separate from mine. I can try to protect my children, to help and guide them, and I can love them, but I cannot save them. Nic, Jasper, and Daisy will live, and someday they will die, with or without me.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Page Number: 255
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

The phone, when it rings, brings on the same state of panic. I am always worried that there is news of another crisis. Or it’s Nic, and I don’t know if he will be sane or high. Or it won’t be him, and I’ll be disappointed. My body tenses up. Oftentimes during meals or when we’re hanging around in the evening, I let the phone ring until the answering service picks it up, because I don’t want to deal with whatever might be coming. I think that everyone feels tension.

Related Characters: David Sheff, Nic Sheff, Karen Barbour, Jasper Sheff, Daisy Sheff
Related Symbols: The Phone
Page Number: 293
Explanation and Analysis: