Linda begins the musical as a tomboyish young girl, but quickly morphs into an object of desire for both of the twin brothers. At the beginning of her adolescence, she only has eyes for Mickey, even telling him she loves him long before their first kiss. After years of poverty (and Mickey’s imprisonment), however, she turns to Edward for comfort and support, and the two begin an affair. Despite this unfaithful act, Linda is a sympathetic character, one who loves both twins, and is driven to betray her husband by desperate and dismal circumstances.
Linda Quotes in Blood Brothers
The Blood Brothers quotes below are all either spoken by Linda or refer to Linda. 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:
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Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Bloomsbury Press edition of Blood Brothers published in 1995.
Act 1
Quotes
Act 2
Quotes
What…Linda…Linda…Don’t…Linda, I wanna kiss y’, an’ put me arms around y’ an’ kiss y’ and kiss y’ an even fornicate with y’ but I don’t know how to tell y’ because I’ve got pimples an’ me feet are too big an’ me bum sticks out an’…
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Explanation and Analysis:
And who’d dare tell the lambs in Spring,
What fate the later seasons bring.
Who’d tell the girl in the middle of the pair
The price she’ll pay just for being there.
Related Characters:
The Narrator (speaker), Mickey, Edward, Linda
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Explanation and Analysis:
EDWARD: If I was him, if I was him
That’s what I’d do.
But I’m not saying a word
I’m not saying I care
Though I would like you to know
That I’ not saying a word
I’m not saying I care
Though I would like you to know.
But I’m not.
LINDA: What?
EDWARD: Mickey.
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Explanation and Analysis:
I didn’t sort anythin’ out Linda. Not a job, not a house, nothin’. It used to be just sweets an’ ciggies he gave me, because I had none of me own. Now it’s a job and a house. I’m not stupid, Linda. You sorted it out. You an’ Councilor Eddie Lyons.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Blood Brothers LitChart as a printable PDF.
Linda Character Timeline in Blood Brothers
The timeline below shows where the character Linda appears in Blood Brothers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
...of battles with each other. Sammy is in one gang, while Mickey and his friend Linda are in another. The children sing about their game, celebrating when they beat each other,...
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With the other children offstage, Linda comforts the upset Mickey. He cries that he doesn’t want to die. She tells him...
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Mickey and Linda arrive at Edward’s garden. The two boys share the fact that their mothers don’t want...
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The three children, meanwhile, are playing with their stolen toy gun. Only Linda hits the target, until Mickey declares that they aren’t playing with the gun anymore, and...
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Act 2
...hurrying Mickey off to school, and telling him that she’s been hearing him talk about Linda in his sleep. Linda enters, waiting at the bus stop, and Mrs. Johnstone continues to...
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The kids get on the bus. Mickey and Linda pay a reduced price because they’re students, but Sammy attempts to pay the lower rate...
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Linda and Mickey are left alone onstage, and Linda warns Mickey that Sammy’s going to be...
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Back in Linda and Mickey’s school, a teacher is teaching a group of students about the Boro Indians...
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Mickey and Linda walk up a hill—Linda struggling in her high-heeled shoes. Her foot gets stuck, and she...
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As Linda leaves, Mickey talks to an imaginary Linda, saying how much he wants to hold and...
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...Edward asks who the girl he saw with Mickey is, and Mickey explains that it’s Linda. The two discuss girlfriends, and Edward reveals that he doesn’t have any. Mickey bluffs for...
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...the idea of naked breasts, and as Edward begins a chant of “tits, tits, tits,” Linda and a friend of hers exit the cinema as well. Edward tries to dance with...
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...enters, and the three adolescents use the same impertinent responses that they did as children. Linda distracts the policeman and the trio makes a run for it, with the policeman chasing...
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...go to a shooting range and play monkey-in-the-middle, while the Narrator warns that one day Linda will pay a price for being in between the two brothers. The Narrator comments that...
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Edward waits by a streetlight as Linda teases him. Edward asks where Mickey is, and she replies that he’s working overtime at...
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...the news that he’ll be at university until Christmas. Edward asks Mickey to ask out Linda, as a favor to him. At last, Mickey unromantically asks Linda if she will go...
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...the factory so that he’s not late. A stunned Mickey reveals to Mrs. Johnstone that Linda is pregnant, and that he wants to marry her within the month. He asks if...
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The scene quickly changes to Mickey and Linda’s wedding, although Mickey is still in his work clothes. As they celebrate, a Managing Director...
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...the wonderful parties he’s attended and the people he’s met at university. He asks how Linda is, and tells Mickey that he wants to invite some of his university friends over....
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The two separate, and Sammy approaches Mickey, while Linda greets Edward. Edward asks Linda why she hasn’t come to see him, and she replies...
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Convinced that he will never see her again, Edward confesses his love for Linda, and then apologizes.
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Linda responds that she’s always loved Edward “in a way,” but when he proposes marriage to...
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Excited, Mickey tells Linda that he’s going to be out till eight o’clock, but that when he’s back, they’re...
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The Narrator refers to his usual list of bad omens, noting that Linda in particular is afraid of the price that Mickey will have to pay. Mickey keeps...
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Linda visits Mickey and tells him that he’ll be released soon. She begs him to stop...
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Linda enters holding shopping bags, and approaches Mrs. Johnstone. The two women discuss what to do...
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Mickey and Linda are together in their new house as Linda sets out Mickey’s work things. Mickey, however,...
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Utterly alone, Linda moves to the telephone. As she does, the Narrator recounts her internal struggle in song,...
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...Johnstone continues singing, as we see Mickey deciding not to take his pills anymore, and Linda and Edward carry on their affair. Mrs. Johnstone reveals that the lovers will have to...
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Out of nowhere, Mrs. Lyons enters. She shows Mickey Edward and Linda together, as Mrs. Johnstone ominously sings about “the price you’re gonna have to pay.” Enraged,...
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...devil, he says, has “got your number,” and has finally arrived. Mrs. Johnstone arrives at Linda’s house, warning her that Mickey has a gun. Terrified, Linda realizes that he must be...
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...his pills, and orders everyone else out of the hall. He continues speaking, saying that Linda was the one good thing he had left in his life, but that Mrs. Lyons...
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...with the gun, shooting and killing him. Immediately the policemen shoot and kill Mickey, as Linda runs down the aisle towards the two brothers.
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