Nine Days

by

Toni Jordan

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Nine Days makes teaching easy.
Jack Husting is the narrator of the third chapter, and Connie’s lover. Although Jack grew up next door to the Westaways, he never took notice of Connie throughout his childhood until he was sent away to boarding school and then to work out west on a ranching station. However, when Jack returns to see his parents for a visit, he is immediately enamored with Connie and goes to see her. Although Jack is an adult when he comes home to visit, his mother, Mrs. Husting, does not know how to treat her grown son and tries to hover and dote on him like she would if her were a child, causing consternation for them both and exemplifying the conflict between mother and son as the son transitions from a boy to a man. Although Mrs. Husting wants Jack to marry a different girl, Jack falls in love with Connie, and they have sex in his parents’ stable the night before he is sent off to war, leaving Connie pregnant. Although Jack hopes to marry Connie when he returns, he dies fighting in North Africa.

Jack Husting Quotes in Nine Days

The Nine Days quotes below are all either spoken by Jack Husting or refer to Jack Husting. 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:
Unconventional Family Structure Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3: Jack Quotes

I can imagine [Mrs. Husting’s] face close to the keyhole. She’s been pacing up and down the hall for the best part of ten minutes. She’s imagining what she might be disturbing. She is unsure how to mother a grown man.

Related Characters: Jack Husting (speaker), Mrs. Husting
Page Number: 59
Explanation and Analysis:

“A girl photographer.” [Francis] raises his arms and pulls on the clothesline, which explains its condition. “That’s stupid.”

Related Characters: Francis Westaway / Uncle Frank (speaker), Jack Husting, Connie Westaway
Page Number: 81
Explanation and Analysis:

Although even then, Mum says, Kip will never make anything of himself, (“that’s plain”), and if we have to send boys to fight overseas—here she gives me a nervous glance—“it’s layabout boys with no responsibilities, the Kip Westaways of the world, who ought to be going.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Husting (speaker), Kip Westaway , Jack Husting
Page Number: 84
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8: Alec Quotes

From what [Kip] says, it seems like all kinds of stupid things had to be kept secret back then. When he says that his sister didn’t die from the flu, Stanzi just nods. Charlotte gets on her high horse about ridiculous sexist taboos and lies and nothing to be ashamed of. Grandma [Annabel] smiles. You can’t imagine what it was like back then, she says. So much pain, all covered over.

Related Characters: Alec Westaway (speaker), Kip Westaway , Stanzi Westaway, Jack Husting, Charlotte Westaway, Annabel Crouch , Connie Westaway
Page Number: 216
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9: Connie Quotes

It seems that all my life I’ve had nothing I’ve desired and I’ve given up having desires at all. Now I know what it feels like to want and I’ll give anything to have it.

Related Characters: Connie Westaway (speaker), Jack Husting, Charlotte Westaway
Page Number: 238
Explanation and Analysis:

The secret to happiness is to be grateful. I think about Ma [Jean], widowed with three children, and Nan who was a slave all her life, first in domestic service and then to Pop, then back to the ironing factory when she was widowed. I have a wonderful job. I have my mother and Francis, and I have Kip my darling Kip.

And here is the most wonderful thing of all. I have had one night with the man of my heart and, just this once, I have had something that I wanted.

Related Characters: Connie Westaway (speaker), Kip Westaway , Jack Husting, Francis Westaway / Uncle Frank, Jean Westaway
Page Number: 245
Explanation and Analysis:
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Jack Husting Quotes in Nine Days

The Nine Days quotes below are all either spoken by Jack Husting or refer to Jack Husting. 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:
Unconventional Family Structure Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3: Jack Quotes

I can imagine [Mrs. Husting’s] face close to the keyhole. She’s been pacing up and down the hall for the best part of ten minutes. She’s imagining what she might be disturbing. She is unsure how to mother a grown man.

Related Characters: Jack Husting (speaker), Mrs. Husting
Page Number: 59
Explanation and Analysis:

“A girl photographer.” [Francis] raises his arms and pulls on the clothesline, which explains its condition. “That’s stupid.”

Related Characters: Francis Westaway / Uncle Frank (speaker), Jack Husting, Connie Westaway
Page Number: 81
Explanation and Analysis:

Although even then, Mum says, Kip will never make anything of himself, (“that’s plain”), and if we have to send boys to fight overseas—here she gives me a nervous glance—“it’s layabout boys with no responsibilities, the Kip Westaways of the world, who ought to be going.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Husting (speaker), Kip Westaway , Jack Husting
Page Number: 84
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8: Alec Quotes

From what [Kip] says, it seems like all kinds of stupid things had to be kept secret back then. When he says that his sister didn’t die from the flu, Stanzi just nods. Charlotte gets on her high horse about ridiculous sexist taboos and lies and nothing to be ashamed of. Grandma [Annabel] smiles. You can’t imagine what it was like back then, she says. So much pain, all covered over.

Related Characters: Alec Westaway (speaker), Kip Westaway , Stanzi Westaway, Jack Husting, Charlotte Westaway, Annabel Crouch , Connie Westaway
Page Number: 216
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9: Connie Quotes

It seems that all my life I’ve had nothing I’ve desired and I’ve given up having desires at all. Now I know what it feels like to want and I’ll give anything to have it.

Related Characters: Connie Westaway (speaker), Jack Husting, Charlotte Westaway
Page Number: 238
Explanation and Analysis:

The secret to happiness is to be grateful. I think about Ma [Jean], widowed with three children, and Nan who was a slave all her life, first in domestic service and then to Pop, then back to the ironing factory when she was widowed. I have a wonderful job. I have my mother and Francis, and I have Kip my darling Kip.

And here is the most wonderful thing of all. I have had one night with the man of my heart and, just this once, I have had something that I wanted.

Related Characters: Connie Westaway (speaker), Kip Westaway , Jack Husting, Francis Westaway / Uncle Frank, Jean Westaway
Page Number: 245
Explanation and Analysis: